Preview: Sixers add all-round depth to champion side

BBL|09 result: Champions

BBL|10 Squad: Sean Abbott, Justin Avendano*, Nick Bertus*, Jackson Bird, Carlos Brathwaite (WI), Dan Christian, Tom Curran (ENG), Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Mickey Edwards, Moises Henriques (c), Jason Holder (WI), Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Nathan Lyon, Ben Manenti, Lawrence Neil-Smith*, Stephen O'Keefe, Josh Philippe, Lloyd Pope, Tom Rogers*, Gurinder Sandhu*, Jordan Silk, Mitchell Starc, James Vince (ENG)

*local replacement player

Ins: Nick Bertus, Carlos Brathwaite, Dan Christian (Renegades), Jason Holder, Lawrence Neil-Smith, Tom Rogers (Hurricanes), Gurinder Sandhu (Thunder), Mitchell Starc

Outs: Daniel Fallins, Josh Hazlewood, Steve Smith

Possible Best XI: Josh Philippe, James Vince, Daniel Hughes, Moises Henriques, Jordan Silk, Dan Christian, Tom Curran, Sean Abbott, Mitchell Starc, Steve O'Keefe, Nathan Lyon

Possible Best XI for first game: Josh Philippe, James Vince, Daniel Hughes, Jordan Silk, Justin Avendano, Dan Christian, Carlos Brathwaite, Steve O'Keefe, Ben Dwarshuis, Gurinder Sandhu, Lloyd Pope

The inside word with coach Greg Shipperd

The off-season

"We were obviously thrilled with the result we got last season … and this season we'll be testing the resolve of our group to go hard again. We had a backend boost last season with Smith and Hazlewood coming into the side; we won't have them this time, but hopefully circumstances evolve and it allows us to get out hands on Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc at the end of the season. We've added the all-round skill and experience of Dan Christian, which we think is a huge plus for us, and otherwise we're a pretty solid group. Carlos Brathwaite is our third international who will be particularly important this year given we're losing some valuable players during the tournament due to Australian duties. So hopefully we can cover the obvious losses that we're going to experience."

Player availability

"Sean Abbott has earned an opportunity in all three Australian squads this summer and we're thrilled for that, and it creates opportunities for others to fill that hole. We think we've got capable options from a medium-pace bowling point of view, but also a spinning point of view with Lloyd Pope, Steve O'Keefe and Ben Manenti (in Nathan Lyon's absence). It'd be pre-emptive of us to put any pressure whatsoever around Sean possibly being released back to us early (from Test duty). He may find himself in sides and playing, so if that's the case we definitely won't get him back. But if the Test team is playing particularly well and he's not part of it, we'll make some enquiries about whether he will be available to us. But we have to wait and see how that unfolds.

"Tom Curran should hopefully be available to us around the fourth game (against the Stars on Boxing Day) … but that all depends on the South African tour and quarantine. But we've got our fingers crossed because he's always a hugely welcome addition to our group and he's an important part of covering the Abbott absence as well. Our two other internationals, James Vince and Carlos Brathwaite, will be available for the whole tournament."

The imports

"We cast our net far and wide and we were waiting to see how particular players were travelling regarding Australian duties. And clearly with Sean Abbott's sensational form, we predicted he would be in the national squad, so we flipped from going for a batting allrounder to a bowling allrounder. And having had experience with Carlos Brathwaite before a few seasons ago, he came in after we'd lost six in a row and helped us win four games in a row to finish the season off and fitted into our squad really well. So it's great that he's available and he's keen to press his place in the competition. There's two T20 World Cups coming up and, like all players, he wants to play for his country again so this could be a nice stepping stone to do that.

"We identified early on that we wanted Tom Curran to be a long-term member of our franchise and he signed a three-year deal with us. For such a young player, he's brought such cricketing intelligence into our environment, he's thirsty for the big moments, he's always improving with the bat … he's popular with the boys and popular with our members and fans. He'll be a long-term BBL player and hopefully for our franchise exclusively.'

(Editor's note: Since this interview, West Indian Jason Holder has signed on for a three-game stint and will play matches on December 20, 26 and 29)

Player to watch

"It's been a unique few years for Moises Henriques and not only has he handled his circumstances beautifully, but he's been bigger than that in the sense that he's shared his experiences with the wider community. He's so precise and on-point with the messages he delivers, and he's been a beacon for other players who are experiencing similar challenges. But having gone through it and continuing to work through it, I think his cricket has really elevated itself.

Him having gone through what he has ... he seems to have been really settled around his cricket and he's very positive and aggressive with his game. He knows his game inside out as a captain and without him, we're less of a team for sure. His cricket has energised us, he's still got national honours in his mind and he's playing to that level. So I'm glad the selectors have put him in the position where he's in the conversation for white-ball cricket and he'll have to be in the conversation for red-ball cricket because he's playing the house down in that form of the game as well."

Your thoughts on the new rules?

"I think change was in the air and I'm looking forward to playing with the rules and seeing how they unfold. We're positive and optimistic about it; there's no good fighting it and obviously there's been a lot of thought that has gone into the changes. I think the important issue is to not fundamentally play around with the contest between bat and ball in any significant way and I don't think these changes do that.

"The underlying points, I gather, is they wanted more runs scored and they wanted closer games. I find (closer games) difficult to find solutions to because teams and coaches often exhort their players to be ruthless and relentless and to win as well as they can. So while the media will want one thing, coaches are coaching for that not to happen. From a run-scoring perspective … I might have even been more aggressive with them. I would have kept six Powerplay overs at the start and added another two through the middle. That was a no brainer for me, but not everyone agreed with that view I proposed.

"I'm looking forward to it; I don't think it'll have a massive effect on the way we go about things, but I hope people enjoy what is a brilliant form of the game, T20 cricket, and let's not mess with it too much."

Biggest threat

"The Stars have a really strong squad again and the availability of their big fish, with Maxwell and Stoinis in particular likely to be available for the whole tournament, they're a threat. But for me, every team is. All the lists are very strong and the addition of another international player means they're better than last season. The Stars are the obvious side to mention, but you could put a blanket over the whole field this season."