Strikers 'only going to get better' in search for success

Adelaide Strikers coach Tim Paine believes his team can still compete with the best in the business despite their disappointing Big Bash campaign.

Finishing the season as the sixth-placed side, the Strikers struggled to put together consistent performances in a tournament where they did not register back-to-back wins.

Despite missing the finals for the second consecutive season under his leadership, Paine's side did claim one more win than they achieved in the season prior.

The former Australian Test captain admitted it was a dissatisfying tournament for the Strikers, but he's optimistic that this is a group that can take Adelaide towards another BBL title.

"It's always disappointing (missing the finals)," Paine said.

"Like everyone, we're in it to win it. There's no doubt about that.  I think sometimes you've kind of got to be realistic with where you're at. I think our best cricket is thereabouts and obviously next year we're looking to take another step forward and get into that top four."

Adelaide started their season with a gutsy away victory against eventual runners-up Sydney Sixers at the SCG. While they dropped matches to Melbourne Stars and Brisbane Heat in their next two fixtures, a convincing win on New Year's Eve kept the Strikers in the hunt for a finals place.

Entering 2026 at 2-2, Paine had faith that his side could still make BBL|15 a Big Bash to remember for Strikers fans.

"If you look at the games we played well this year, we look like a really good team," Paine said.

"I think we're only going to get better and (there were) some encouraging signs... at the halfway point, I thought we were ahead of the game."

Facing the Scorchers in Perth for their first match of the new year, the Strikers lost a game they could have easily won. After restricting this season's champions to 8-153, they fell 33 runs short in a poor batting display.

The team bounced back with a thrilling win against Sydney Thunder to keep their season alive.

What followed though was three conseuctive losses that put an end to the Strikers' title hopes. A consolation victory over Melbourne Renegades in their final match showed some promising signs, but as Paine said, the organisation are now after more complete performances to make a meaningful move up the standings in BBL|16. 

"The growth for us is to start to put full games together a bit more," Paine said.

"That sometimes takes time. We got some good games into some really young players. From our Big Bash perspective, someone like Liam Scott really stood up and took his chance. Jerrssis Wadia was another great find. Those guys are both Strikers Academy products.

"If we can get another couple out of that bunch in the next couple of years to add to the rest of our list, I think we're building out a really good team that can compete not just now, but we're about building success for a long time."

Coming into the season, it was no secret that Adelaide were after pace bowlers.

In the BBL|15 Draft, the club selected England's Luke Wood and Pakistan's Hassan Ali. Not only did the club want to add high-quality talent in this area, Paine said they were after seasoned professionals to accelerate the growth of their younger players.

"We wanted to improve our bowling," Paine said.

"Our batting numbers from the year before were basically ranked first or second... and our bowling was a bit off the pace. There was a couple of things to going and getting those overseas bowlers. One (part) was to try and strengthen it this year, while we still had Matthew Short and Chris Lynn at the top of their game. The second part (is) they're really experienced bowlers.

"It was always about going and getting some experienced overseas bowlers to strengthen it this year, but also for our young bowlers in our squad to spend time around really skilled and really experienced international cricketers."

While they managed to secure more depth in their bowling department, the club finished BBL|15 two wins and net run rate outside of the finals.

It's a gap that looks substantial in a 10-game regular season, but Paine does not believe his squad are that far off the league's best sides two years into his tenure.

"The gap never is as big as you think it is," Paine said.

"You need one player in a game of T20 to have a night out and you can compete with anyone. Obviously, some of the other teams have got some more depth, and they go a little bit deeper with bat and ball, but I think you can still beat them with good strategy and your best players having a night out.

"Percentages tell you that they will probably win more games against us than not, but I still think it's certainly doable. I don't like to use lists as an excuse. When we get things right, we can compete with the best teams and the more experience we get in those big moments and big games, the better off we're going to be.

"Whilst there's some lists out there that are certainly better than others... there's other ways to skin a cat."

In this eighth and final BBL|15 season review on cricket.com.au, Paine helps us breakdown Adelaide's season through the key talking points that defined their summer, before giving us an insight into the future of the club.

Adelaide Strikers: BBL|15 snapshot

BBL|15 result: Sixth (4 wins, 6 losses)

 

Most runs: Liam Scott (310 at 51.66)

 

Best strike rate (min. 50 runs): Alex Carey (157.37)

 

Most wickets: Lloyd Pope (15 at 19.06)

 

Best economy (min. 10 overs): Tabraiz Shamsi (5.66)

 

Contracted for BBL|16: Alex Carey (contracted until BBL|17), Mackenzie Harvey (BBL|16), Thomas Kelly (BBL|16), Lloyd Pope (BBL|16), Jason Sangha (BBL|16), Liam Scott (BBL|16), Matt Short (BBL|17), Tom Straker (BBL|16), Henry Thornton (BBL|16), Jerrssis Wadia (BBL|17)

 

Uncontracted: Hassan Ali (Pakistan), Cameron Boyce, Jordan Buckingham, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, Harry Manenti, Harry Nielsen, Jamie Overton (England), Alex Ross, Tabraiz Shamsi (South Africa), Luke Wood (England), 

Liam Scott's superb season

After claiming the One-Day Cup Player of the Tournament award in the 2024-2025 season, Liam Scott showed his prowess in the T20 format during an outstanding campaign for the Strikers.

Scott made 310 runs at an average of 51.66 and was named 12th man in the BBL|15 Team of the Tournament. The 25-year-old hit fifties against the Sixers (51) and the Hurricanes (91no). Scott also took five wickets from 12.1 overs, showing his class with the ball when his team needed him.

Speaking on Scott's development over the past two Big Bash seasons, Paine was full of praise.

"I know South Australia have been really bullish on Liam Scott for a number of years," Paine said.

"I've been lucky enough to have him in our Australia A teams as well, where he's had some fantastic results. He's a high-class allrounder that's only getting better and better. I think he's got some real self-belief in his own game now, and his body's maturing all the time as well. 

"Liam Scott has still got some some levels to get to and he's doing everything possible and working his backside off. He's really hungry for knowledge and he's been around good players and asking lots of questions. He wants to go to the very top level of cricket. Certainly, I think, from what I've seen, he's got the skillset, the mindset and the physical attributes do it.

"He's going to be a real key to our cricket going forward. There's no doubt about that."

Lloyd Pope delivers again

Just as he did in the season prior, Lloyd Pope took home 15 wickets for the Strikers, the equal-most wickets for any spinner across the competition. 

Pope took multiple wickets in five matches including a season-best 4-23 against the Scorchers in Perth.

Defending small square boundaries at Adelaide Oval in half of his fixtures, it was Pope's economy rate of 8.17 that impressed his coach.

"I don't always think externally Popey gets the credit he deserves," Paine said.

"He also bowls five games a season at the Adelaide Oval, where the the average score is much higher than at most other grounds. For him to be going at eight-an-over is a great effort on our wicket and our ground. He's one of the very few spinners that I see around the competition that bowls either end. Whether it's a short boundary or long boundary, it doesn't bother Popey. He gets the job done for us. I think he's been super in the last few years.

"He's not the loudest guy around the group, but when Pope is up and about and bowling, the guys sort of thrive off his energy. You can see it at home in Adelaide. He's got the ability to get our crowd really revved up when he comes on."

Matt Short's topsy-turvy campaign

Despite making three half-centuries across BBL|15, it was an inconsistent summer for the usually reliable Strikers captain, Matt Short.

After making 15 against the Sixers in his first outing, one of the league's best opening batters made scores of 56 (v Stars) and 63 (v Heat) in his next two matches. From then, Short only passed fifty once in Adelaide's remaining seven games of the season as the team missed the top four.

Tellingly, BBL|15 marks the first time Short has averaged less than 30 with the bat since BBL|10, with his tournament strike rate of 132.70 also the lowest it has been since that Big Bash.

Reflecting on his skipper's performances throughout the competition, Paine explained that Short still contributed to the team despite the fact he didn't necessarily live up to his own standards.

"With the bat, he's probably a victim of his own excellent standards," Paine said.

"The last four or five years, he's been far and away the best player in the competition. This year, by his standards, it wasn't the lofty standards that other people expect.

"He still contributed really strongly across our side. It's not just with the bat. He impacts with the ball, and he's also got the ability to change games in the field, and we saw that at times during the Big Bash.

"In terms of his captaincy, he just keeps getting better and better... he's gained more and more experience, more and more confidence. He's captaining at times in the MLC for San Francisco. Even just seeing his development in the last 12 months as a leader around our group, (it) was really exciting."

International output

The quartet of Luke Wood, Hassan Ali, Jamie Overton and Tabraiz Shamsi were the overseas recruits Adelaide secured the services of for BBL|15.

Taking 37 wickets between them, the Strikers found viable bowling options from their internationals demonstrating their improvement in BBL|15.

Although Paine is pleased with their output throughout the tournament, the coach recognised the difficulty for overseas players to perform under pressure in the Big Bash.

"I think sometimes we underestimate just how hard a competition the Big Bash is," Paine said.

"In terms of the quality of players in it, but also the conditions that these guys have to come and play. Jamie (Overton), we see he keeps getting better and better, but he's someone who's now been with us for three years. He knows what to expect and how to adapt to the extra bounce that you don't get anywhere really else in the world, except for in Australia.

"So (I'm) really keen to keep trying to get consistency with our overseas players if we can, or at least players that have been in the Big Bash before, because it is a really hard competition.

"All the guys that we had this year were were fantastic around our group. They performed at certain times and didn't at others, but they're not robots. They're not going to come out and just dominate games of cricket all the time at this level."

Squad moves and eyes on BBL|16

With eyes on BBL|16, the Strikers have already locked in a group of 10 players who've committed to the club for next season.

Australian Test wicketkeeper Alex Carey is currently under contract until BBL|17, although it's highly likely the Strikers won't see him next summer amid Australia's Test schedule that includes a five-Test tour of India starting in January.

India-born allrounder Jerrssis Wadia had some moments of magic across BBL|15. The allrounder was recently rewarded for his impressive debut Big Bash season with another two-year contract. Paine was elated with Wadia's BBL breakthrough and said he believes the 24-year-old will appear in other domestic formats soon. 

"I think you'll see more of him in South Australian colours," Paine said.

"I think he's a huge talent. I've been really excited since the first ball I saw him face at the Junction Oval. He hit it out of the ground, and then he came out and opened the bowling and bowled brilliantly. He's got all the skills.

"He can bowl with a new ball. He can spin the ball if he wants to through the middle, and he can actually bowl a bit of death. He's got that real ability to bowl really quickly or slow it up and spin the ball, and to swing and move the new ball around in funny ways.

"We saw what he was capable of with the bat at the Gabba. He's just got a bit of freakish talent, no fear and a great attitude to his cricket. Any chance that we got to get him into our team, we did. We're absolutely thrilled to have him signed on for another couple of years."

While Wadia has recently put pen to paper with the club, the league's most prolific run-scorer hasn't.

Chris Lynn, who became the first player to score 4000 runs in Big Bash history in BBL|15, is currently uncontracted ahead of next season. The BBL veteran has played every edition of the competiton since its inception in 2011, having played eleven seasons with the Heat before his last four at the Strikers. 

Despite his credentials, it was a tough summer for Lynn in the Big Bash.

For the first time since BBL|07, when Lynn played just the five matches, the right-hand batter scored less than 200 runs. While the 35-year-old fired on New Year's Eve with a stunning 79* to give the Strikers victory, Lynn's second-highest score for the tournament was just 27. The Strikers opener was also dismissed in single digits on five occasions, as he compiled 178 runs at an average of 22.25.

Although his numbers weren't great this summer, Paine has refused to put a line through Lynn's career at the Strikers, or in the Big Bash.

"Lynny was fantastic again this year around our group," Paine said. 

"Obviously (he) didn't have the output that he would liked, but he's a great influence on our group. When he's playing at his best, he won us a game against Brisbane. He finished the game in the last match against the Renegades. From what I've seen with him, he's obviously getting a little bit older, but the way he's preparing himself now physically is giving himself the best chance to have a bit of longevity.

"His best cricket is the very best of what the Big Bash has ever seen. We'll wait and see what happens there, but I don't think we've seen the last of Chris Lynn."

Unlike Carey, Travis Head did not feature in BBL|15 after his superb contribution to Australia's NRMA Insurance Men's Ashes series victory. The South Australian has not played in the Big Bash since BBL|12 and is also out of contract leading into next season.

Although the Strikers know it is unlikely that Head will return to the BBL next summer, Paine hinted that the left-hand batter is still a crucial cog to the organisation both on and off the field.

"Anything we can do to keep him associated with our club or on our list, we'll do so," Paine said.

"Travis Head is someone that we always want to have in and around our group in any way, shape or form we can. Whether he's available to play or not, when someone's that good and that important a part of your club, I think sometimes you've just got to take the punt on it.

"Obviously there's an entertainment and a commercial aspect to the game as well. No one's a bigger name in South Australian sport than Travis Head, so it's a bit of a no brainer to have him around in any way that we can."

From having a firm focus on bowling just months ago, the Strikers are shifting gears ahead of BBL|16.

In a tell-tale sign of their struggles, only three Strikers players scored 100 or more runs this summer, with Scott (310), Short (280) and Lynn (178) passing the milestone. 

Once an area of strength for Adelaide, Paine admitted the club will look to bolster their batting stocks in the off-season.

"We're looking to bring in some batting skill," Paine said.

"We went with two overseas fast bowlers last year. I don't think that's something we'll do next year. We'll look to probably put someone in that middle-order or top-order and strengthen our batting again as much as we can. (We'll) build from there... trying to build a team around our South Australian cricketers. Some of those young guys who didn't have a great season last year, we've got full confidence in that they can bounce back and do the job for us."

No matter how the club choose to improve their squad, it's clear their decision-making surrounds one important goal.

For Paine and the Strikers, the path towards a second BBL title isn't through overreacting to another underwhelming season. Instead, it's through continuing their work in developing long-term players that can launch the club into a prolonged period of success.

"It's not all about last year or next year," Paine said.

"It's about building something that's sustainable and competes year-in year-out, like the Perth Scorchers have.

"We don't want to do it exactly like they have, or play the exact style of play that they've played... but I think the way they've backed their local players in and built around that has been the real reason for their success."

BBL|15 season reviews