The third edition of the BBL swings into action tomorrow night, I’ve just put the finishing touches on my fantasy lineup with a couple of last minute changes. How well have I selected? Only time will tell, but on paper I’m pretty happy with the squad I was able to afford.

As tempting as it is to pick in-form guys like Dave Warner and Steve Smith because they’re available in round 1, I’ve opted not to simply because they’ll miss most of the rest of the tournament while on Test duty. Same goes for the likes of Harris and Johnson who are also unlikely to see much, if any, BBL action this year.

Batsmen

Shaun Marsh – chalked up a ton and a pair of fifties in three games in the season-launching Ryobi Cup, was also the leading run scorer and best performing batsman in BBL:02 on the BigBashBoard (just ahead of Aaron Finch).

Luke Pomersbach – missed the Ryobi Cup, but has racked up more than 350 runs in the two Shield games he’s played. Second highest run scorer in last year’s tournament.

Alex Hales – A relative bargain at just $84k for the ICC’s number one ranked T20 batsman. Flew in and played a pair of games for the Renegades last year, including a 52-ball 89 that rained 8 sixes on the crowd at the SCG.

Cameron White – Had a really good Friends Life T20 during the winter, finishing as the third highest runs scorer. Continued to pile on the runs during the Ryobi Cup with 5 half-centuries in 6 matches and player of the tournament honours, and is averaging 50 in Shield cricket this season. Seems cheap at $68k considering the form he’s been in.

All-rounders

Glenn Maxwell – Earns a spot following the last minute injury to his Stars team-mate James Faulkner. Unlike during the IPL where he was paid a stack to warm the benches, I’m expecting Maxi should play most games for the Stars, and hoping he’ll chip in solid performances with both bat and ball.

Moises Henriques – Maybe hasn’t been in the best form over the recent months, but I think he’s still good value at $46k. Will be vital with both bat and ball, especially in a Sixers side that will be without Test stars Brad Haddin and Steve Smith.

Wicketkeeper

Craig Kieswetter – Leading run scorer in the 2013 Friends Life T20, he should be available at least until the limited overs portion of the English tour starts. Still unsure whether he’ll take the gloves or if that will be left to Chris Hartley.

Bowlers

Lasith Malinga – Picked up 13 wickets in 7 matches last year including the 6/7 destruction of the Scorchers – but most importantly his economy rate was below 5. He’ll miss the first round while on International duty, so I’ve subbed in Xavier Doherty – completely different bowler, but should play well at Blundstone Arena in the first round again the Strikers.

Ben Cutting – Like Malinga he picked up 13 wickets last year, he played two more matches but interesting bowled exactly the same number of balls (177). As a bonus he can also be deadly with the bat as he, and his strike-rate of 174, showed in the Ryobi Cup.

Nathan Coulter-Nile – missed the Ryobi Cup, but has collected 11 wickets in his three Shield games thus far. Like Dougy below he’ll hopefully be available and not kept sitting on the sidelines for the Test team at the MCG and SCG during the first half of the tournament.

Doug Bollinger – provided they don’t keep drafting Dougy to carry the oranges for the Test side, his $50k price seems like good value for an experienced campaigner who’s been in good form thus far this summer. Hoping he brings it with him into the shortest form of the game.

Substitutes

I’ve got a Sixers-heavy bench, consisting of backup batsman Marcus North, Dan Smith with the gloves and Trent Copeland with the ball, plus all-rounder Alex Keath from the Stars.

I’m not necessarily the kind to change the lineup before every round, but I definitely expect that I’ll have to shuffle things around a bit as the tournament progresses. Especially once the ODIs between Australia and England kick off – which, depending on who the Aussies select, could wipe out more than half my team. By then I’ll hopefully have a better idea of who is playing well and who isn’t, and should be able to find suitable replacements.

Now. Let’s see how badly I do this year.