Adelaide and Port Adelaide have rounded out their teams for the Bushfire T20 Showdown having selecting cricketers to play for each side in a player draft held at Adelaide Oval today.
Port Adelaide
Tom Jonas (c)
Travis Boak
Tom Clurey
Kane Farrell
Hamish Hartlett
Travis Head
Sarah Lowe
Todd Marshall
Harry Nielsen
Connor Rozee
Phil Salt
Chadd Sayers
Boyd Woodcock
Adelaide
Tom Lynch (c)
Alex Carey
Brad Crouch
Matt Crouch
Darcy Fogarty
Rashid Khan
Bridget Patterson
Kane Richardson
Paul Seedsman
Rory Sloane
Brodie Smith
Taylor Walker
Jake Weatherald
Adelaide cricket captain Tom Lynch and Port Adelaide cricket vice-captain Hamish Hartlett were responsible for choosing the cricketers to join their team, in what’s shaping up to be a fierce rivalry on the field.
Hartlett selected Adelaide Strikers players Travis Head, Harry Nielsen and Phil Salt, Redbacks player Chadd Sayers and Scorpions player Sarah Lowe to join the Port Adelaide side.
Lynch picked Adelaide Strikers players Alex Carey, Jake Weatherald and Rashid Khan, Redbacks player Kane Richardson and Strikers WBBL player Bridget Patterson for the Adelaide team.
The coaches were also announced for each side, with cricket legends Darren Lehmann to coach Adelaide and Barry ‘Nugget’ Rees to coach Port Adelaide.
Bushfire T20 Showdown – Match Day Rules
- Each team will consist of 8 AFL players, 4 SACA male cricketers and 1 SACA female cricketer.
- A 12th man position (auctioned on radio) and a 13th man position (CFS volunteer) will assist with drinks and other on field activity but will not bat, bowl or field.
- Each team will have 11 players bat.
- Each team can bowl up to 10 players, with a maximum of 3 overs each. Some of these players can be different to the 11 who bat.
- The first 4 batters in each team must be AFL players.
- The first cricketer to bat will come in at No. 5.
- The female cricketer in each team must bat.
- Teams must nominate a wild card (male cricketer who is not listed as a designated batter), who may be subbed into the batting line up to replace a selected batter (one of the 8 AFL players) at the discretion of the captain, if the team is in trouble and deems it necessary to strengthen its batting line up during the match.
- Every player will receive a ‘free hit’ for the first ball they face. The umpire will signal the free hit as normal.
- All other BBL rules will apply.
Player Bios – Port Adelaide
Tom Jonas (captain)
Position: Batsman
Batting style: Right Hand
Bowling style: Right Arm Medium/ Off Spin
Jonas is a big-hitting middle-order batsman who particularly likes to take down spin bowling. A blistering 45 guided Port Adelaide’s Grange Dolphins to victory over a PAC side which included the big Texan (Taylor Walker).
Jonas likes to talk down his ability but expect him to put a few in the Adelaide Oval stands.
Travis Boak
Position: All-rounder
Batting style: Right hand
Bowling: Right Arm Fast
Boak is Port Adelaide’s x-factor player. His ability with both bat and ball, as well as, his energy in the field makes him the one to watch in the Bushfire Showdown.
The former skipper is coming off post-season surgery on his shoulder, which may mean he will be reliant on just wielding the willow. Expect a big score if this is the case.
Boak was dominant for the Grange Dolphins in last year’s premiership winning side.
Tom Clurey
Position: Batsman
Batting Style: Right Hand
Bowling Style: Right Arm Off Spin
Clurey is another big-hitting middle-order batsman in Port Adelaide’s line-up. He was another important member of the Grange Dolphins premiership campaign last year, and is looking to take them back-to-back.
The key defender prays on anything short and looks to take spin down. Tipping a few crowd catches when Clurey strides to the middle.
Kane Farrell
Position: Bowler
Batting style: Left Hand
Bowling style: Right Arm Medium Fast
Farrell will most likely take the new ball and look to swing it away from the right handers.
The skilful forward has been a revelation for the Grange Dolphins and isn’t afraid to go for a few runs as he looks for early wickets.
Farrell also has a very safe pair of hands.
Hamish Hartlett
Position: Batsman
Batting Style: Right Hand
Bowling: Right Arm Medium
Hartlett is Port Adelaide’s most aesthetically pleasing cricketer to watch. Think Mike Hussey’s cover drive and Mark Waugh’s flick off the pads.
The rebounding defender was in the elite category in junior cricket, representing South Australia and also being selecting in an Australian u/15 representative team.
Hartlett fought it out with current Australian vice-captain Alex Carey for a spot in the side with the gloves before footy took over.
Expecting big things.
Travis Head
Strikers captain Travis Head has built a reputation as one of the most devastating batsmen in Australian Cricket. The explosive left-hander blasted the club’s first BBL century with an unbeaten 101 against the Sydney Sixers on New Year’s Eve of 2015 and is Adelaide’s all time leading Big Bash runscorer. Head marked his first season as skipper by leading the Strikers to their inaugural Big Bash Championship in BBL|07 to thrust his name back in front of Australian selectors. The young power-hitter earned a deserved Test debut in October 2018 and notched his maiden century – a stirring 161 – against Sri Lanka just four months later. Head is a crowd favourite, a respected leader and is undoubtedly in the prime of his career.
Sarah Lowe
All-rounder Sarah Lowe’s clean striking ability and medium-pace bowling saw her make her Women’s National Cricket League 50-over debut in 2016-17. During 2017-18 Lowe began to become a more frequent member of the Scorpions XI, playing four of their six WNCL matches. Lowe was the joint winner of the 11th Karen Rolton Medal in 2016-17, awarded to the best female cricketer in first grade Premier Cricket. She captured 18 wickets at 7.56 for Kensington during 2017-18 and captained her side to two premierships in 2016-17.
Todd Marshall
Position: All-rounder
Batting Style: Right Hand
Bowling Style: Right Arm Off Spin
Marshall was another very talented junior cricket, touring England with a New South Wales underage side.
The tall key forward is surprisingly an off-spin bowler, with his bounce and turn a big weapon. A real Sulieman Benn type operator.
He is also very handy with the bat, often opening up for the Grange Dolphins and setting a strong foundation.
Expecting some runs and wickets from the big man.
Harry Nielsen
The son of former Australian coach Tim, Harry Nielsen is a gifted wicketkeeper-batsman who can clear the rope with ease. Nielsen was added to the Strikers’ KFC BBL|08 roster as a replacement player for captain Travis Head after making his Big Bash debut in the semi-final of BBL|07, again as a replacement player for fellow South Australian ‘keeper Alex Carey. Clean and sharp behind the stumps, Nielsen showcased his class with the bat by crafting a sparkling century in his first-class debut for South Australia against Victoria in early 2018. His unbeaten knock of 44* in the club’s final Big Bash match of BBL|08 against the Scorchers is a promising sign of things to come from the talented youngster.
Connor Rozee
Position: All-rounder
Batting Style: Right hand
Bowling Style: Right Arm Medium
Rozee was another very talented junior cricketer, plying his trade at the mighty East Torrens District Cricket Club.
The talented youngster was a fixture in the South Australian junior teams and was tipped for higher honours before football took over.
He is a batsman who can score all around the ground and can be put in the very aesthetically pleasing to watch category.
Phil Salt
Powerful English batsman Phil Salt made his Big Bash debut in BBL|09 as the Adelaide Strikers’ second international signing. A heavy-hitting right-hander, Salt has played a key role with the Sussex Sharks in the UK’s Vitality Blast series in recent seasons under coach Jason Gillespie and alongside fellow Strikers Rashid Khan and Alex Carey. Salt was Sussex’s top T20 runscorer last year with 406 runs including four half-centuries, backing up his maiden call-up to England’s T20I squad against Pakistan in May. Renowned for his aggression at the top of the order and energy in the field.
Chadd Sayers
Sayers is one of the premier swing bowlers in the country. After continually impressing at domestic level, the two-time Neil Dansie Medallist finally earned a Baggy Green in early 2018 and claimed legendary South African AB de Villiers as his maiden Test scalp. Injuries restricted the hard-working Redback to just three one-day and five first-class matches for South Australia in what was a tough summer by his own lofty standards. But Sayers still managed to contribute with 17 Shield wickets at 30.94, including a five-wicket haul against New South Wales at Adelaide Oval, proving his best cricket can match it with anyone when fit and firing.
Boyd Woodcock
Position: All-rounder
Batting style: Right Hand
Bowling style: Right Arm Fast Medium
Woodcock has recently been described as a bowler, but an average of 45 with the bat for the Grange Dolphins firmly puts him in the allrounder category.
The crafty forward comes off the long run with the ball and isn’t afraid to a bowl a little bit of chin music.
He brings plenty in the field and has a rocket arm.
Player Bios – Adelaide
Tom Lynch (Captain)
Position: All-rounder
Batting style: Right hand
Bowling style: Right arm medium
Lynch was highly regarded as a youth cricketer, representing Victoria at junior level as a line and length bowler. He can also damage with the bat, favouring a six over cow corner.
Lynch’s father, Andrew, is Victoria’s Chairman of Selectors.
Alex Carey
An agile gloveman and a proven match-winner with the bat, Carey is a one of the most well-rounded players in Australia. The classy left-hander was a driving force behind Adelaide’s Championship BBL|07 season, setting a new club record for the most runs by a Striker in a single summer highlighted by an outstanding century against the Hurricanes at Adelaide Oval. Carey leads the Strikers for wicketkeeper dismissals and is one of only four players to record more than 750 BBL runs in blue. His form was promptly rewarded by Australian selectors with deserved ODI and T20I debuts in the green and gold and he made an immediate impact, earning the vice-captaincy in both squads including for the 2019 ICC World Cup in England.
Brad Crouch
Position: Batsman
Batting style: Right hand
Bowling: Right Arm Fast
Brad gave up cricket at 14 to concentrate on football, but was a talented all-rounder known for steaming in off the long run up. He was runner-up best and fairest as a junior with the Ballarat Cricket Association’s fourth-grade side, boasting impressive numbers with both bat and ball.
Potential to open the batting alongside brother Matt.
Matt Crouch
Position: Keeper-batsman
Batting Style: Right Hand
Bowling: Right Arm Medium
Considered by teammates as one of the strongest batsmen in the side, Matt made his A Grade debut for North Ballarat as a 14-year-old, before going on to represent Victoria in the Under 17 National Championships.
Matt is the side’s only experienced gloveman, having taken on the role for Melbourne’s first-grade team as a 15-year-old.
Darcy Fogarty
Position: All-rounder
Batting Style: Right Hand
Bowling Style: Right Arm Spin
Cutting his teeth at the Lucindale Cricket Club as a junior, Darcy Fogarty is a powerful batsman with a bag full of tricks.
Expect fireworks and plenty of crowd catching opportunities when this aggressive middle-order batsman is at the crease.
Rashid Khan
Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan is one of the world’s most devastating T20 bowlers. The skilful leg-spinner has starred in short-form tournaments across the globe showcasing his unpredictable wrong’un and trademark aeroplane celebration, and has taken the BBL by storm in his first two seasons as a Striker. Rashid was Adelaide’s leading wicket-taker in both BBL|07 and BBL|08 and was also voted by his teammates as the club’s Most Valuable Player for the second straight season. Even when not taking wickets, Rashid has proven to be one of the hardest players in the competition to get away boasting an amazing economy rate below a run a ball. An incredible player and an extremely popular figure on and off the pitch.
Bridget Patterson
An aggressive right-hander, Patterson has become a crucial part of the Strikers’ WBBL lineup. Patterson is a gifted athlete and a former member of the Australian Women’s Cricket Team development squad which toured Sri Lanka in early 2016. She scored over 200 runs for the second straight season in WBBL|04, highlighted by a career-best 51* against the Melbourne Stars to mark her first Big Bash half-century. Patterson also stepped up as wicketkeeper for one match in the absence of teammate Tegan McPharlin in another example of her versatility. Her incredible one-handed catch to dismiss the Heat’s Jemma Barsby in Mackay was a fitting display of her athleticism. Quick between the wickets and an asset in the field, Patterson is a reliable contributor in the Strikers’ middle order.
Kane Richardson
Kane Richardson is one of South Australia’s most experienced bowlers with regular selection in Australian limited-overs squads for several seasons. The leading wicket-taker of KFC BBL|08 with Champions the Melbourne Renegades, Richardson joined the Australians for tours in India and Dubai in early 2019 and earned selection for the 2019 ICC World Cup in England. A two-time limited-overs Player of the Year for the State, Richardson took eight wickets from six matches in last summer’s One-Day Cup and is always a wicket-taking threat for the Redbacks.
Paul Seedsman
Position: All-rounder
Batting Style: Right hand
Bowling Style: Right Arm Medium
Seedsman will be looking to make an impression for the Crows in the T20 Bushfire game.
Just last month, he smacked a half-century off only 29 balls – including four sixes – in a local Twenty20 competition. He followed it up with the ball, taking 4/18 from four overs and leading his side to a 33-run win in a man-of-the-match performance.
Rory Sloane
Position: All-rounder
Batting Style: Right Hand
Bowling Style: Right Arm Medium
He may be the least experienced cricketer in the side, but good luck keeping all-rounder and Adelaide Crows Captain Rory Sloane out of this game.
Expect Sloane to play his role as a team leader and enthusiastic fielder for the side.
Brodie Smith
Position: Batsman
Batting style: Right hand
Bowling style: Right-arm slow
Smith hasn’t wielded the willow for a while, but in 2008, a 16-year-old Smith steered Grange’s C3 team to victory over Concordia OC with a dashing century.
Chasing 174, the Dolphins were in strife at 3/9 as Smith strode to the crease. Channelling his inner Mike Hussey, the dashing defender worked well with the tail en route to a career-best 114 in a match-winning performance.
Taylor Walker
Position: All-rounder
Batting style: Right hand
Bowling style: Right Arm Fast
As the spear head of the Crows bowling attack, Tex has been terrifying batsmen in the local T20 comp with his right-arm fast deliveries.
In his five games for PAOC, he has taken 12 wickets at an incredible average of 7.5, with best figures of 4/17.
Jake Weatherald
Originally from Darwin, the explosive left-hander made an impressive half-century on debut for the Strikers back in BBL|06 and hasn’t looked back since. He’s missed just one match in the past three seasons and has regularly showcased his match-winning abilities with the bat, highlighted by a club-record 115 in the BBL|07 final to seal the Strikers’ maiden Big Bash Championship. A natural cricketer who relishes the responsibility at the top of the order.
BUSHFIRE T20 SHOWDOWN MEDIA INQUIRIES: Elise Partington – 0417 875 126 or elise.partington@adelaideoval.com.au
ADELAIDE FOOTBALL CLUB MEDIA INQUIRIES: Mark Addinall – 0448 887 278 or maddinall@afc.com.au
PORT ADELAIDE FOOTBALL CLUB MEDIA INQUIRIES: Loukas Founten – 0411 360 406 or lfounten@pafc.com.au
SACA MEDIA INQUIRIES: Adam Trombetta – 0434 555 696 or atrombetta@saca.com.au
