Preview: Canes eye improved BBL results

Squad: George Bailey (c), Jofra Archer (WI/ENG), Cameron Boyce, Dan Christian, Alex Doolan, Hamish Kingston, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Simon Milenko, Tymal Mills (ENG), Tim Paine, Nathan Reardon, Jake Reed, Sam Rainbird, Tom Rogers, Clive Rose, D'Arcy Short, Matthew Wade

Ins: Jofra Archer, Tymal Mills, Tom Rogers, Riley Meredith, Nathan Reardon (Heat), Matthew Wade (Renegades, trade)

Outs: James Bazley, Stuart Broad, Kumar Sangakkara, Shaun Tait (retired), Beau Webster (Renegades, trade), Jonathan Wells (Strikers)

The inside word: Hobart Hurricanes' star signing Tymal Mills on fellow overseas player and relative unknown, Jofra Archer, a Barbadian allrounder who now plies his trade in England: "I know Jofra really well, we play together back home. He's been doing really well in the Bangladesh Premier League … he bowls fast, he's got good skills and he can bat also. He's a really good addition to the team. Because he's relatively unknown as well, a lot of the batters won't have faced him, so he'll be an unknown quality coming into here, and hopefully that'll give us a big advantage."

The talking points: Can new coach Gary Kirsten turn around the club's fortunes and lead them to the finals for the first time since BBL|03? The likes of George Bailey, Dan Christian and international recruit Mills are proven T20 performers, though the loss of Australia's incumbent Test and T20 keeper Tim Paine for the early stages of the tournament (potentially longer if he wins selection in Australia's ODI side) hurts given his strong returns in recent seasons. But Matthew Wade is a more than adequate replacement, while Ben McDermott showed a glimpse of his talent with a brilliant century against the Renegades last season. The 'Canes need them, along with emerging players like Simon Milenko, Tom Rogers and Hamish Kingston, to step up this summer.

BBL|06 result: Three wins suggested they'd had a slightly better tournament than their second-from-bottom finish would suggest but ultimately they fell short of expectations, reflected in the non-renewal of coach Damien Wright’s contract. Only two batsmen (Bailey and Paine) managed more than 200 runs, no bowler took more than 10 wickets while only two bowlers (Christian and spinner Clive Rose) finished an economy-rate of fewer than eight runs per over.

The one to watch: D'arcy Short burst onto the scene last summer and provides the rare package of clean hitting from the top of the order and useful left-arm wrist-spin. Of indigenous descent and hailing from the Northern Territory, Short’s returns at first-class level are improving with Western Australia while he struck his maiden 50-over century in the JLT One-Day Cup in October. But the T20 format appears to be where he's most suited right now though, and with Paine - his opening partner for BBL|06 – to miss the opening part of the tournament, the stage is set for Short.

The pressure on: He nearly didn't get let into the MCG following a mishap ahead of a game for the Heat last summer, but security might recognise left-arm quick Tymal Mills this time around after pocketing a cool $AUD2.3 million at the Indian Premier League earlier this year. The English paceman, now a T20 specialist after back injuries curtailed his career in the longer formats, is as fast as they as come and also possesses deadly slower ball. Needing an injection of speed after losing Stuart Broad and Shaun Tait from last season's squad, the Hurricanes will be banking on Mills to fire.

The fixtures: Dec 21 v Renegades (home), Dec 30 v Thunder (home – Launceston), Jan 1 v Thunder (away), Jan 4 v Strikers (home), Jan 8 v Sixers (home), Jan 10 v Heat (away), Jan 15 v Heat (home), Jan 17 v Strikers (away), Jan 20 v Scorchers (away), Jan 27 v Stars (away).