Coastal Marlins co-owner Nick Fitzpatrick expects the new franchise to be highly competitive in the inaugural Brisbane Premier League, after recruiting well at the player auction.
The Marlins selected 15 players to join ‘local hero’ Alecz Day in their squad, which will participate in the T20 tournament around south-east Queensland in August.
The auction was held at the Gabba, with a mock salary cap.
“It was really interesting and good fun, and we’re really happy with the team we’ve got,” Fitzpatrick said.
“We’ve had a lot of people who aren’t involved with the squad tell us that it’s probably one of the strongest sides.
“We put a lot of time and effort into it and the coaches and owners and feel like we’ve come out the other side pretty good.”
The Marlins claimed ex-New South Wales and Sydney Thunder batsman/wicket-keeper Jay Lenton.
“We picked him up for what we thought was a bargain,” Fitzpatrick said.
“He came up really early and I think people were a bit gun shy and probably didn’t know what a fair price in value was, having never done this kind of thing before.
“To have an ex-Big Bash League player is really good.”
They also signed South Australian first grade player Adam Somerfield.
“I haven’t seen a lot of him, but I think we got him for a steal.”
“Some guys I’ve spoken to down there reckon he’s a weapon at the short form.”
The Marlins selected several Sunshine Coast players, including some who are linked to the Scorchers in the Queensland Premier Grade.
Josh Matthews looms as a key player at the top of the order.
“We were always planning to go reasonably hard to try and lock him in,” Fitzpatrick said.
“He’s young and has a lot of upside and talent.”
But their largest spend was on Lloyd Aspin, who plays for Sandgate in the state competition.
“He’s just a match winner,” Fitzpatrick said.
“We were always planning to spend big on an attacking allrounder.”
He said they will boast a dangerous batting queue.
“We’ve got a really dynamic top four line-up of Josh, Jay, Alecz and Lloyd.
“They can win you games of each of their bats and set totals no one will be able to chase.
“We’ve done well with our depth as well, because we’ve got a few all-rounders in the squad, so we’re going to bat really strong to 8 or 9.”
Day, a star for the Scorchers in recent seasons, was selected as the team’s designated ‘local hero’ prior to the auction.
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But it wasn’t a perfect auction for the Marlins.
“One area we regretted a bit is with our spinners. We’ve got a few good sprinners but we wanted one or two quality spinners.”
While an auction was held for the men’s teams, there was also a draft for youth teams at Allan Border Oval, for ages 12, 13, 15, 17 and 19.
“It was great and different,” Fitzpatrick said.
“It was a really fast pace, hectic.”
Teams had only 15 seconds for each draft pick and the Marlins believe they have some strong squads, including highly touted youngster Jackson Mills in the 19s.
The 19 girls teams will be selected on May 28.
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Fitzpatrick and his friend Joel Hamilton, who own and run the Australian Cricket Institute, essentially created the BPL after linking with parties in South Africa, where similar tournaments have been running with success for years.
The Marlins will be coached by former Queensland and West Indies batsman Brendan Nash and they’re owned by Fitzpatrick, Hamilton, Dylan and Jarrod Pinkstone and Travis Schultz.
The franchises are Darling Dingoes, Bayside Pirates, Moreton Magic, Northern Kings, Southern Cyclines, Coastal Marlins, Gold Coast Waveriders and Western Power.
MARLINS SQUAD: Alecz Day, Josh Matthews, Jay Lenton, Lloyd Aspin, Zac Keune, Jared Sippel, Liam Smith, Jamie Eccles, Ben O’Connell, Adam Somerfield, Kyle Wisniewski, Tom Olsen, Chris Welsh, Brad Radford, Kris Glass, Paul Nasser. Coach: Brendan Nash.
