Seeing Double: Two bites of the cherry, ‘Canes, Sixers

The action never stops in BBL SuperCoach.

It’s been an incredibly challenging season to-date with the turnaround times between rounds shorter than ever before. And now off the back of two single-game rounds in a row we’re back on the double game week (DGW) wagon with two huge rounds of action which look set to have a huge say in final rankings.

Those who planned ahead in round 6 by targeting Hurricanes have already benefited after great scores from Nathan Ellis (105) and Matt Wade (112). And going early on McDermott also paid off in round 7. All three will be high on the wishlist already and thankfully most coaches should have cash aplenty by virtue of being able to now flip down fattened assets like Akeal Hosein and Beau Webster.

Given one of the teams in the round 8 double are backing up from a double in round 5, I’d expect most sides to already be holding three or four players already. So without further adieu, let’s get into the preview of the round 8 DGW.

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Average SuperCoach points scored and conceded per game

	Plus	Minus	Plus Rank	Minus Rank
ADL	477.2	411.7	2	2
BRH	441.2	491.5	5	7
HH	430.6	520.4	7	8
MLR	434.4	484.9	6	6
MST	419.8	480.2	8	5
PS	528.0	416.0	1	3
SS	444.6	449.7	4	4
ST	465.1	402.7	3	1

Round 3

Round 3 DGW: Hobart Hurricanes vs Adelaide Strikers & Melbourne Renegades (Adelaide Oval, Marvel Stadium) &

Sydney Sixers vs Melbourne Stars & Sydney Thunder (MCG, Sydney Showgrounds)

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Hobart Hurricanes

Background: The ‘Canes were one of the dark horses poised to take the competition by storm this summer but have so far failed to fire many shots. They boast a lot of big reputations but have been let down by a lack of wicket-taking bowlers and misfiring openers.

Form: Three wins from six matches doesn’t sound great, but it could be a lot worse. Statistically speaking they score the 2nd least amount of SuperCoach points per game (430) and concede the most (520) – a whopping 20 points more than any other club. Batsman are consistently going big against the side and they’re not taking a heap of wickets.

Opponents: The Adelaide Strikers (411) conceded the second least amount of points, while the Renegades (492) conceded the 6th most. The Strikers bowling attack has been one of the best in the competition to-date with Henry Thornton the leading wicket-taker and able support from Wes Agar and Rashid Khan – this will be Rashid’s last game of the season.

The Melbourne Renegades have been one of the surprise packets of the season with a 3-3 record at the time of writing. They boast improved batting and bowling stocks but a lot will now depend on the availability of Hosein and Mujeeb as to whether they remain competitive or return to whipping boys.

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Grounds: Adelaide Oval is a great ground for SuperCoach scoring with rewards on offer for both bat and ball, and spin and seam. Marvel, similarly, is a good great for SuperCoach scoring and can favour bowlers slightly. The Renegades have already chased down 174 successfully, so old notions that this is a poor stadium for batting are not true.

Good one to target?: There should be runs on offer to batters in this double game week. The opposition are reasonably strong – especially the Strikers bowlers who will be keen to send off Rashid on a high – but with big runs could come opportunities for death bowlers to clean up.

Best Bat: Matt Wade, Ben McDermott

Best Bowler: Nathan Ellis, Paddy Dooley, Riley Meredith

Top picks: Wade, Ellis, McDermott

POD: Tim David, Faheem Asharaf

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Player summaries:

• Matt Wade: The ideal VC candidate. Has scored a century at Adelaide Oval before and is batting with real intent. High risk high reward, and one to probably grab in round 7 given his big score in round 6. Will be 170k+
• Ben McDermott: Fallen gun. Coming off an injury and had scored 34 runs in first three knocks to-date. Severely discounted price and an ideal emergency loop option. Can wait until round 8, but well done if you jumped on him early with the Shadab news.
• Shadab Khan: has departed the BBL and won’t return until the closing stages before the finals.
• D’Arcy Short: could pick-up more bowling load with Shadab not available for the DGW but is averaging under 20 SC points for the year before round 7. He’s cheap and always in the game – could be worth a punt.
• Tim David: shocking role for SC but always has one of those games in him. Emergency loop if you plan on owning.
• Nathan Ellis – dropped to under 100k to start round 6 before reminding us all of his class with 112 points from four wickets against the Thunder. Has the dream SuperCoach role – get him in, and go early to make the most of the discount he’s offering.
• Riley Meredith – an enigma. Capable of huge SuperCoach scores or complete disasters. His last four rounds including Round 7: 3, 108, 42, 32
• Paddy Dooley – candidate for cheapie of the year, but does the music stop for the windmill man? Was averaging 76 for the season prior to a touch-up against the Thunder. Wait until round 8 and then reassess.
• Faheem Asharaf – classy pace bowler available for 105k, and DPP. Asharaf will replace Jimmy Neesham and be a super POD given how little is known about him. The lack of role clarity means we do not know if he will get the much vaunted death over role alongside Ellis, but if he does we’ve got a bargain on our hands.

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Sydney Sixers

Sydney Sixers vs Melbourne Stars & Sydney Thunder (MCG, Sydney Showgrounds)

Background: Given the proximity of the round 8 DGW to the round 6 DGW we will assume you’re familiar with the best candidates.

Form: Four wins in a row followed on from two first-up thrashings at the hands of the Scorchers and Strikers. The Sixers are finally remembering who they are, and while the batters have struggled for consistency to-date, the bowling group has begun to deliver. Scoring 440 points per game (5th) but conceding only 420 (3rd), only bested by the Strikers and Thunder.

Opponents: Both the Stars and Thunder have been unpredictable teams to-date. The Stars started strongly but fell in a hole, while the Thunder were the opposite and have now strung three huge wins together in a row. On paper, the Thunder are the hardest team to score points against which is thanks in large part to their homeground, the Showgrounds, being a difficult surface. The Stars bowling attack gave up 229 runs – the most of any team this season – against the Perth Scorchers earlier this season.

Grounds: Tough grounds to pick. The MCG can go either way – if games are close, batters can often exploit the big ground by playing low risk cricket (aka running lots of ‘twos’ instead of attempting boundaries) which makes for low-scoring SC games. Showgrounds on the other hand has really favored bowling sides and has been awkward to bat on unless you’re Hales or Gilkes against the Heat.

Good one to target?: Obviously most already own Sixers, and there’s no reason to try and flip them before this DGW gets underway. The bye for the club immediately afterwards means it’s not prudent to go too overboard on trade-ins, especially if – like me – you’re also now carrying an NPR following the back-to-back single game weeks. In all, the risk of bowling rotation is huge, so have a plan in case your targets aren’t named in round 1.

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Best Bat: Philippe, James Vince

Best Bowler: Sean Abbott, Hayden Kerr, Ben Dwarshuis

Top picks: Kerr, Philippe

POD: Jackson Bird, Chris Jordan (if available), Kurtis Patterson

Player summaries:

• Josh Philippe: if you don’t own, a must have based on his super high ownership and ability
• Hayden Kerr – a great ‘C’ option. Bowling death, batting at 7, and looking better every game.
• Sean Abbott – another great ‘C’ option. Hasn’t been at this best this season so far yet still averaging 55. Has recently been rested so should be available for both matches.
• James Vince – available for both games of the DGW, and has shown glimpses in rounds 4-6 of his best. Only a matter of time before he has a big one. Handy batting emergency in case of a ‘Canes bat failure.
• Ben Dwarshuis – has looked impeccable since returning in round 5. Low ownership but a risk of a rest.
• Jackson Bird – flying well under the radar. Averaging 64 for the season before round 6 and in only 11% of teams.
• Chris Jordan – like Vince, unclear when he leaves, but with the death bowling role, he presents good value for what he could deliver.
• Kurtis Patterson – has shown glimpses and can go big.
• Dan Christian – looked very average this season with the bat, but with DPP and at a dirt cheap price presents value. Not for me.

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Verdict

Hobart haven’t delivered consistently enough for me to want to go too heavily towards them but some low/negative break evens from Wade and Ellis, I am fine to target those two at a minimum. It scares me not to own McDermott on a double as well, and at his price he’s a safe bet and loop option moving forward.

I will want to make sure I am happy holding the players for round 9 as well given the Sixers have the bye and are more pressing trade-outs. I’ll make sure my targets are easy trade-outs after then hence I will pay attention to break evens.

I am confident in the Sixers I already own (Philippe/Kerr/Abbott/Vince) that I will only look for one more trade-in maximum, in either Dwarshius or Jordan. My final boost will likely come in handy to allow me not get caught short with the club on the bye the next week.

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SGW PODs to watch – all from teams on the R9 DGW

• Joe Clarke, 12% – in the leading run-scorers for the tournament and flying well under the radar.
• Luke Wood, 11% – a death bowler available at BAT? Pretty useful and one who is valuable for loops.
• Henry Thornton, 3.9% – leading wicket-taker in the competition but priced out of range for most. Huge one to monitor ahead of the R9 DGW.
• Nathan Coulter-Nile, 1.7% – averaging 61 for the season. Always a chance at a rest, but has been back to his wicket-taking best this season.
• Wes Agar, 0.2% – averaging 61 and in a whopping 5 teams in the top 5%.