POD Hunter: Round 3, unique players to find an edge

• SEEING DOUBLE: SC prospects with double lives, Stars
• STAT BREAKDOWN: Key numbers shaping Round 3

If you’re off to a slow start, or perhaps like to live on the edge with your SuperCoach selections, you’ll be sure to want to hunt point of difference (POD) players for your side.

Each week we’ll run through a list of potential candidates that fit the bill, owned by under 10% of SuperCoaches at the time of writing that can help us claw up the rankings at a rapid rate.

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DOUBLE ROUND POD

Nick Larkin – 1.8% ownership

Coming into Round 3 off a score of 67 Supercoach points, Larkin looms as a potential POD option for gutsy Supercoaches. 

He looks to be coming in at number 3 or 4 regularly and will get chances to score some runs for the Stars over their Round 3 double. 

It wasn’t the greatest innings in BBL history, there weren’t many lusty blows delivered, it was a tad scratchy and lucky, but it delivered an insight into what Larkin can produce. 

He has shown in the past that he can accumulate and produce some reasonable scores such as a patch last year where he delivered scores of 52, 76 and 100 over a three round stretch. 

The Stars have many options but they are pricey, so if we can’t fit them all in we may have to turn to someone like Larkin. 

He is definitely a schedule pick (no other time you would consider him) but there are times when a schedule pick can prove a wise move and turn into a shrewd move. 

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Qais Ahmad – 0.5% ownership

After only scoring a modest 30 Supercoach points, potential owners will be hoping to see improvement as he plays more games in the BBL. 

He scored a mammoth 180 Supercoach points in Round 1 of the 2019/2020 season, but it has been a while since he put up a mega score like that. 

Adam Zampa is undoubtedly the best Melbourne Stars spinner, but that could work in Ahmad’s favour. 

Teams may respect Zampa and just see him off and look to be more aggressive and take more risks against Ahmad which could lead to more wicket taking opportunities. 

We have seen in BBL before that the second spinning option can piggyback and take the wickets whist the main weapon does the heavy lifting and ties down an end. 

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Nathan Coulter-Nile – 1.4% ownership

It was great to see him back playing for his first game of the season. It wasn’t his best game ever, but he showed how great he is by top scoring for the Stars with 73 Supercoach points. 

He can score some gigantic scores, as evidenced by outings of 169, 140, 119, 111 and 109 (twice) over the years. 

Coaches will probably turn to players such as Maxwell, Stoinis, Zampa and Russell and many may overlook Coulter-Nile as an option. 

There is a big warning though, he can be rested and this could happen in their Round 3 double and this would be a concern for people considering trading him in. 

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SINGLE ROUND POD

Kane Richardson – 7.9% ownership

Even though the Renegades do not have a double for a long time, they do not have a bye this season and there just seems a great deal of safety with having Richardson in your side. 

You can plug him into your side and the chances of him having an absolute stinker are unlikely. 

He scored a respectable 56 Supercoach points in Round 1, followed by 107 in Round 2, he is someone we will need to consider at some stage. 

He bowls all the right overs, has many bowling variations and is a very solid pick, regardless of schedule. 

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Matthew Kelly – 6.4% ownership

Kelly was perhaps the most impressive performance in Round 1 of the BBL. 

He was most impressive with the ball in hand and scored an unbelievable 121 and showed he can bowl at different stages of the innings. 

There were some question marks over his long-term position in the team with Tymal Mills suiting up soon, but one would presume a performance like that would mean that he has earnt a position in the XI for a little while now. The Round 4 double only enhances the appeal. 

Josh Inglis – 5.7 % ownership

It looks like he will be back for Round 3 for the Scorchers. Put simply, this guy can play and looks like he will have many more opportunities with the bat with the Scorchers not having their English duo to open their batting this year. 

The Scorchers have the double in Round 4 and do not have a bye directly after it like many teams do this year. He is also reasonably priced at $133,800. He could be a very smart trade in and a great POD play at this moment in time.