The new Big Bash League season gets underway on Sunday with the eight franchises all going at it looking to win the title. We’ve already previewed the campaign elsewhere but we have the chance to have a look at a top batter market before the tournament starts.
Matthew Short dominated the tournament with the bat last season and he will be back with the Adelaide Strikers looking to have another great campaign but there are loads of batters who will be out to deny him.
Recent Winners
2023-24 – Matthew Short (541)
2022-23 – Aaron Hardie (460)
2021-22 – Ben McDermott (577)
2020-21 – Alex Hales (543)
2019-20 – Marcus Stoinis (705)
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)
The Favourites
Matthew Short was the top scorer in the competition last season and he was second to Aaron Hardie the year before so it is probably no surprise that he is the 9/1 favourite to be the top batter this time around. He is captaining Adelaide Strikers this season and they are undergoing a few changes in their hierarchy so it could be that the captaincy will affect his batting. If it doesn’t then he is clearly more than good enough to top score but at the prices I’m happy to leave him.
Dave Warner hasn’t played a full season in the Big Bash League for a while but now that he has quit international cricket he will spend the whole campaign with the Sydney Thunder and as a result of that he might be a worthy 11/1 second favourite. Warner has been one of the best white ball batters doing the rounds for a decade or more but he isn’t getting any younger and he is the captain of the Thunder so there are reasons to oppose him.
Ben McDermott is also 11/1 to top score this season. There is very much an all or nothing element to him and the Hobart Hurricanes will be hoping that he is more hit than miss this season else their chances of success could be slim. That would be one issue for me. He isn’t guaranteed to be in the postseason so could succumb to someone who potentially gets three more matches than him. Another issue is Hobart have been a mess recently so I’ll leave him alone.
Chris Lynn and Josh Inglis are next in the market at 14/1. Lynn is playing the whole season for the Adelaide Strikers this term which will appeal to many but like Warner he isn’t exactly getting any younger and that puts me off. Inglis has everything needed to go very well but I like the look of the Scorchers side this season and it might be that those who bat above him will take up more overs than would be ideal for someone who is going to top score.
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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 that probably isn’t a coincidence so that is something to consider.
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 will be playing for teams who will go deep in the tournament as those extra matches can make such a difference. Home grounds is usually something that I look for as those who bat on smaller grounds should be able to accumulate runs a lot quicker.
Betting
Jake Fraser-McGurk is my idea of the leading run scorer in this tournament. I’ve already said in my outright preview that I’ve a hunch that the Melbourne Renegades will have a better season this term and one of the reasons for that is the ability of Fraser-McGurk to catch fire. He is an international cricketer now and has done enough of the franchise scene to know how to go about his innings. His home ground is small enough to plough runs and only eight players scored more than him last season and when you put it all together he should have a huge campaign here.
I’ll also play a couple of outsiders in this market who could go well at decent prices. I will admit that I was hoping we would get a better price on Sam Konstas but the secret is out with him I think. He was under consideration for the Australia Test match squad last month courtesy of being the fifth leading scorer in the Sheffield Shield this season. That is obviously red ball and this is white ball but youngsters these days go after the bowling regardless of the format. There is an opening berth available at the Thunder with Nic Maddinson starting the season injured so I’ll pay to see if he can convert his Shield form into Big Bash runs.
Jake Weatherald only played seven matches last term but he averaged over 40 for the games he did play and this season he sits eighth on the run list for the Sheffield Shield. It remains to be seen what role he has with the Adelaide Strikers this season but they are not blessed with form horses in their top order so hopefully he gets to open the batting in which case the 100/1 on him top scoring would have plenty of legs. Even if he batsmen down the order but plays every game there will be enough movement in players throughout the season to give him a chance of making the frame at a big price.
Tips
Back J.Fraser-McGurk Top Tournament Batter (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 17.00 with Boylesports (1/5 1-5)
Back him here:
Back S.Konstas Top Tournament Batter (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 23.00 with Betway (1/4 1-4)
Back J.Weatherald Top Tournament Batter (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 101.00 with Betway (1/4 1-4)
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