ILT20 TEAM GUIDE: With Andy Flower and James Vince at the helm, a host of explosive batters, and strong options with seam and spin, Gulf Giants must be among the favourites for the title, writes ELIZABETH BOTCHERBY
Coach: Andy Flower
Former Zimbabwe international Andy Flower brings his extensive coaching CV to Gulf Giants. On the international stage, he spent 12 years in various roles with the ECB, including winning the 2010 T20 World Cup and leading England to the top of the Test rankings in 2011 while serving as head coach. Similarly successful at franchise level, he has worked with Multan Sultans (leading them to PSL glory in 2021), St Lucia Zouks and Lucknow Super Giants among others.
Captain: James Vince
A batter in fine T20 form and coming off the back of a fine 2022 season, during which he led Hampshire to T20 Blast glory – scoring 678 runs, including two centuries, in the process - and returned to England's ODI and T20I squads (albeit only for a handful of matches). Successful wherever he goes, he has won multiple Big Bash titles with Sydney Sixers and was a member of Flower's 2021 PSL-winning Multan Sultans squad.
James Vince [Alex Davidson/Getty Images]
BATTING
Power hitters
Vince, Tom Banton and Chris Lynn represent a pretty good starting point. All three players were involved in the 2022/23 Abu Dhabi T10, and all scored at strike rates in excess of 150 – Banton's 190 runs came at 175.92.
Vince is a proven performer over many years of franchise tournaments, scoring over 8,500 runs at a rate in excess of 130 while Lynn is one of T20 cricket's premier batters. After a quiet BBL11, he came back with a bang for Northamptonshire in the T20 Blast, scoring 516 runs at a rate of 159.25, including two centuries and four half-centuries, in 10 innings. He's displaying similarly rich form for Adelaide Strikers in BBL12, suggesting he is well and truly back to his best.
This trio should have few difficulties in locating the boundary and getting the Giants off to a destructive start.
Anchor
One doesn't wish to make Gulf Giants 'the James Vince Show' but the England international is certainly a handy option in this department. With an average of 30 and more than 50 fifty-plus knocks across his career, he oozes stability and provides the reassurance for Lynn that he can cut loose and explode without worrying about the consequences of losing his wicket.
Finisher
David Wiese and Shimron Hetmyer are the headline grabbers here. Wiese (who, as a Namibia international, comes under the Associate player banner) boasts a T20 strike rate of 144.27 and is sought after around the world for his destructive capabilities at the death – his blistering 55 (36) against the UAE at the 2022 T20 World Cup is a case in point. Furthermore, nearly 60 per cent of his career T20 runs have come via boundaries.
As for Hetmyer, the left-hander is something of a middle-order bruiser with a healthy strike rate (131.77). However, that figure exceeds 150 in the IPL while in last November's T10 League, his 122 runs came at a rate of 174.28.
Problem areas
Gulf Giants are not short on explosivity and can bat deep with Liam Dawson and bowlers Chris Jordan and Jamie Overton not averse to crunching boundaries – the latter has a career strike rate of 174.46 in the format. Gerhard Erasmus and Ollie Pope add further squad depth while UAE international CP Rizwan is full of potential. Overall, Flower will be pretty happy with his lot, although some more left-handers to support Hetmyer would have been the icing on the cake.
David Wiese [Aamir Qureshi/Getty Images]
BOWLING
Speed merchants
Eye-catching English trio of Overton, Jordan and Richard Gleeson lead the seam department. Jordan's recent form leaves a lot to be desired but there's no denying that on his day, he is the man for the pressure moments. Overton and Gleeson, meanwhile, are genuine speedsters and should unsettle a few batters.
Gleeson was the leading wicket-taker in the 2022 T20 Blast and a nuisance both in the powerplay and at the death, taking 11 wickets in the former (7.71 economy) and 14 in the latter (9.31 economy).
Wiese boasts over 250 wickets with his right-arm medium pace, Tom Helm is capable of extracting a lot of bounce, and Dominic Drakes offers a point of difference as a left-hander. The West Indian has taken 43 wickets in 43 T20s.
Variation
Gulf Giants have a lot of variety here, with Rehan Ahmed (right-arm legbreak googly), Gerhard Erasmus (occasional right-arm off-spin), and Aayan Afzal Khan (slow left-arm) all pushing for selection. Rehan already has 21 T20 wickets to his name, although he can be expensive, while 17-year-old Khan impressed at the 2022 T20 World Cup, taking two wickets and conceding just 4.75 runs per over.
However, Dawson and Qais Ahmad are the frontline spinners. Like Vince, Dawson won the T20 Blast with Hampshire in 2022 and is a canny finger spinner, with 168 wickets and an economy of 7.21 in the format.
Ahmad, meanwhile, bowls right-arm leg-spin has already amassed 125 appearances in T20 competitions around the world, taking 143 wickets. A proven wicket-taker, he is at his best in the middle overs but has previously been deployed at the death to good effect.
Problem areas
As with the bat, the Giants have a very right-handed attack, with Dawson and Drakes the standout left-handers. With this in mind, the attack could be a bit samey. Death bowling could also be problematic, with both Gleeson and Jordan having a tendency to lean towards the expensive side. On the whole, however, there's a lot to like about this attack.
Richard Gleeson [Alex Davidson/Getty Images]
Who takes the gloves?
Banton will likely take on this role, with the Somerset man completing 58 catches and six stumpings in his T20 career. What happens if he gets injured or is out of form, however, is anyone's guess.
Squad: James Vince (c), Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Jordan, Chris Lynn, Tom Banton, Dominic Drakes, David Wiese, Jamie Overton, Richard Gleeson, Rehan Ahmed, Liam Dawson, Qais Ahmad, Ollie Pope, Aayan Khan, Sanchit Sharma, CP Rizwaan, Ashwant Valthapa, Tom Helm, Gerhard Erasmus
Possible starting XI: Chris Lynn, Tom Banton, James Vince, CP Rizwan, Shimron Hetmyer, David Wiese, Liam Dawson, Chris Jordan, Jamie Overton, Qaid Ahmad, Richard Gleeson
Fixtures: January 15 – Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (Sheikh Zayed Stadium, 10am GMT), January 16 – Dubai Capitals (Dubai International Stadium, 2pm), January 19 – Dubai Capitals (Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 2pm), January 22 – Desert Vipers (Dubai International Stadium, 10am), January 23 – Sharjah Warriors (Dubai International Stadium), January 25 – Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (Dubai International Stadium, 2pm), January 27 – MI Emirates (Dubai International Stadium, 2pm), February 1 – MI Emirates (Sheikh Zayed Stadium, 2pm), February 4 – Desert Vipers (Dubai International Stadium, 2pm), February 6 – Sharjah Warriors (Sheikh Zayed Stadium, 2pm)
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