The last of the outright markets that we are going to look at ahead of the tenth season of the Big Bash League starting is the top bowler for the season. This is usually a competitive market with great bowlers heading down under for the competition. This year is no different.
Daniel Sams delivered a masterclass in death bowling last season to walk off with the crown for the top bowler by a distance. He’ll be looking to showcase his talents again this term but some top class bowlers oppose him here.
Recent Winners
2019-20 – Daniel Sams (30)
2018-19 – Kane Richardson (24)
2017-18 – Dwayne Bravo & Rashid Khan (18)
2016-17 – Sean Abbott (20)
2015-16 – Clint McKay (18)
2014-15 – John Hastings (16)
2013-14 – Cameron Gannon (18)
2012-13 – Ben Laughlin (14)
2011-12 – Rana Naved-ul-Hasan (15)
The Favourites
Daniel Sams broke all the records for wicket taking last season and off the back of more exposure with the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League and a run out in Australia colours he will be going into this competition very confident. His Sydney Thunder side are expected to go well this term and with the pitches not likely to be tired out this season his mystery balls could have a really important impact. He looks a worthy favourite to be fair.
Andrew Tye is the second favourite to lead the bowling charts this season. He missed last term with an injury so he’ll be eager to make his mark for the Perth Scorchers, especially as he was overlooked for much of the Indian Premier League by the Rajasthan Royals. Tye has a myriad of slower balls to fox batsmen with and if he stays fit he is likely to be there or thereabouts, although he hasn’t been the top wicket taker in the tournament so far so there’s no reason why he’s suddenly going to be now.
Rashid Khan shared the top bowling honours on his first foray into the Big Bash League but wasn’t as successful last season. In all T20 competitions teams are beginning to sit on the Afghan leggie and he doesn’t even have the safety net of wickets at the death as a guarantee because you would think teams will be taking their extra two overs of fielding restrictions at that time. It would be a surprise if he doesn’t have a good season but too many teams are happy to sit on him for my liking.
Adam Zampa and Ben Laughlin are the other two high up in the betting this season. Zampa tends to go very well in this competition and if you are backing a spinner he’s probably a better alternative to Rashid Khan but spinners don’t have a great record in this competition. Ben Laughlin is another one of those bowlers who has more slower balls than they need. It has been eight years since he was the leading wicket taker and I’m not convinced that run is going to snap here.
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Profile
As with the batsmen, we need to settle the field down a little bit wherever possible otherwise we are betting in a 40 runner field if not a few more so once again I’m going to apply some logical filters which are based on historical things. The obvious place to start is whether to choose a seamer or a spinner. If you look at the list of winners above they are all seamers while only two of the leading nine wicket takers were spinners last season.
Wickets are a lower denominator than runs so each one could be crucial therefore taking bowlers who are likely to be involved in the playoffs could be advantageous. Clearly we would need luck to get the ultimate number of matches but we can effectively take out three teams with at least one extra match let alone a potential three or four.
Betting
Riley Meredith has proven himself to be one of the better bowlers in Australia and although injury snaffled any chance he had of being the leading bowler with my money on him last season I’m prepared to let him carry my cash again in a market I don’t have a whole lot of love for I must admit. In the six matches Meredith played last season he took 10 wickets so he was on course for a 22-24 wicket season which would have seen him finish second overall. He took 16 wickets in his debut season so the Hobart Hurricanes quick can certainly get batsmen out.
Meredith is clearly on the fringes of the Australia thoughts because he went over to England earlier in the year with that squad. He isn’t quite in there yet though so he might feel he has a point to prove over the course of this season. I don’t bet big on the bowler markets, especially with the world in this shape with injuries more likely than normal due to disrupted preparation time, but in this particular one I’m happy to take a punt on Meredith again.
Tips
Back R.Meredith Top Season Bowler (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with Boylesports (1/4 1-4)
Back him here:
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