We have covered the eight teams and their chances in our Big Bash League season nine outright preview but there is still time to look at the top batsman market ahead of the tournament starts, one which is very competitive this term.
D’Arcy Short has been the standout batsman in this competition over the last couple of years but with some good overseas imports and international players fading from the top level into this event, there are a lot of challengers for the top scoring honours.
Recent Winners
2018/19 – D’Arcy Short (637)
2017/18 – D’Arcy Short (572)
2016/17 – Ben Dunk (364)
2015/16 – Chris Lynn (378)
2014/15 – Michael Klinger (326)
2013/14 – Ben Dunk (395)
2012/13 – Shaun Marsh (412)
2011/12 – Travis Birt (309)
Favourites
Two former winners of this honour in D’Arcy Short and Shaun Marsh are the 7/1 favourites to lead the scoring this season. Short is looking for a hattrick of those particular crowns while Marsh was the fifth leading scorer in the Australian 50 over competition this season. Both men look out of international contention these days which is a real positive to their chances of having good seasons. Short should go very well although he has been short of form recently. It will be interesting to see Marsh’s role at the Renegades.
Usman Khawaja is another who has faded from international glory and he is 8/1 to lead the scoring in this tournament this season. Generally when he plays in it he scores very well and his record at domestic level is top notch. He averages 31.76 in domestic T20s around the world and has gone past 50 in 11 of his 65 innings which is no mean effort. He looks set to play the entire season and looks to be a genuine contender for top scoring honours.
Chris Lynn is 10/1 to get the top scoring gong back and he certainly has the advantage of having six matches at the Gabba but it would have been helpful if the Brisbane Heat had their other two matches there. The downside for us punters is his fitness can never be guaranteed while captains in this format of the game always have plenty on their plate so you have to balance that all out. He could top score but plenty will need to go his and our way were we to back him.
Marcus Stoinis goes into the tournament at 14/1 to be the leading scorer in it and if he avoids international call ups and injuries you would think he would have a good chance of that given that he usually occupies an opener spot with the Melbourne Stars and gets given licence to give it a biff. He’s a clean hitter of the ball so could very well be a real danger in what feels like a wide open betting heat.
Alex Hales was hit and miss in South Africa recently but he is far enough away from England contention that he is going to see the whole season with the Sydney Thunder. He is a good player who should go very well and with Usman Khawaja to bat around Hales can play his natural game. He is 16/1 to lead the run scoring which looks a fair price if he can regain his consistency but in a side who could struggle that might be a big enough if.
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Profile
Eight teams are in this tournament each with six or seven batsmen so the 50 or so runner field needs to be reduced before we can get stuck into a bet. So how can we do that? Well we can use history to apply some filters. These won’t guarantee we find the winner but it is a big help. The obvious thing when we look at the previous winners is we want openers. Every single name on the above list is an opener and five of the top six last season opened for their sides too.
That reduces the field to 16 players, or 24 players if you wanted to include a number three, so from there we can pick accordingly. In an absolute ideal world we would look for players who play on the smaller grounds which bring those who represent the Adelaide Strikers, Brisbane Heat and Melbourne Renegades into play while current form has to be another thing to consider. Applying all those criteria we’ve come out with a couple of bets.
Betting
Ben Dunk has twice top scored in this tournament and I think he can get back to those heights even though he will be playing his home matches at the MCG these days. Dunk is in good form. He has just led the run scoring in the Mzansi Super League where he averaged more than 50 for his 11 matches which highlights that he is hitting the ball well. He ticks the opener box at the top of the order for the Melbourne Stars unlike in South Africa where he spent much of the event batting at number four. Dunk is one of the better T20 batsmen in Australia and has lost none of his quality. At 33/1 I’ll pay to see how well he goes here.
Australia might not know about Phil Salt yet but they will do in eight weeks because I think the Sussex star could be about to showcase his credentials on the big stage for the Adelaide Strikers. He has the perfect platform to do just that here. He is a typical modern player who hits the ball square of the wicket and he’ll find no shorter square boundaries in many places than he gets here. He is a clean hitter of the ball who will have the licence under Jason Gillespie to go very well. England honours aren’t far away from Salt and with the World T20 in this part of the world in 10 months a big season here will do his chances of appearing there no harm at all. He’s 25/1 and that is overpriced.
Tips
Back B.Dunk Top Season Batsman (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 34.00 with Coral (1/4 1-4)
Back him here:
Back P.Salt Top Season Batsman (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with BetVictor (1/4 1-4)
Back him here:
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