Adelaide paceman Ben Laughlin has praised the enviable depth of the Strikers' list which looms as a crucial factor in their bid for back-to-back BBL titles.
The Strikers absorbed the absence of key trio Alex Carey, Peter Siddle and Billy Stanlake - who have joined the Australian team for the one-day international series against India - to comfortably down the Melbourne Stars by 41 runs on Friday night.
Ben Laughlin, who missed last Sunday's loss to the Sydney Sixers with a hamstring injury, slotted back seamlessly, snaring 3-19 to help lift the new-look Strikers to victory and second position on the ladder.
"We've got depth everywhere which is really good," Laughlin said.
"The off-field team of 'Dizzy' (coach Jason Gillespie), (high performance manager) Tim Nielsen and all the boys who put the list together need to get a lot of credit for having all bases covered, just in case something happened."
The Strikers' depth will continue to be tested during the Indian series, then again during two Tests against Sri Lanka where captain Travis Head, who made 43 in his first knock in Strikers colours this summer, will again be unavailable.
"It was nice to have Travis back because we thought we were going to be missing him as well," Laughlin said.
"That was a bonus."
While the deck chairs will continue to be shuffled around, Laughlin, who declared he felt "really fresh" in his return from injury, believes the reigning champions still have room for improvement.
"Tonight was a pretty good game but we still got stuck a bit early with the bat," Laughlin said.
"We still haven't played perfect cricket but we're going pretty well."
Australian Associated Press
