We are a matter of hours away from the new Big Bash League season beginning and having looked at the outright market and the one for the top batter, we have just enough time to take in the betting for the top bowler for the competition.
Xavier Bartlett shocked plenty to be the leading bowler in this competition a season ago and he is back in the mix looking to take the most wickets in the tournament once again but some really good bowlers will oppose him.
Recent Winners
2023-24 – Xavier Bartlett (20)
2022-23 – Sean Abbott (29)
2021-22 – Peter Siddle (30)
2020-21 – Jhye Richardson (29)
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)
The Favourites
We have joint favourites for the top bowler market in the form of Australia internationals Adam Zampa and Spencer Johnson. Zampa is renowned as one of the best bowlers in the competition and if the Melbourne Renegades go well he surely will do but spinners don’t tend to top the charts in this competition which is a concern. Johnson was second to Xavier Bartlett last year and there is nothing to suggest he can’t go well again this time.
Xavier Bartlett, Andrew Tye and Jason Behrendorff come next in the betting at 12/1. The latter two both play for the Perth Scorchers so you wonder if they will take wickets from each other, although they do bowl at opposite ends of the innings which helps. Bartlett will probably only compete with Johnson and he’ll get a power surge over which should help but you would imagine teams will have come up with plans against him.
Daniel Sams has a decent record in this tournament and he is 14/1 to be the leading wicket taker in the competition this season. He missed the end of the county season with injury so he might be fresher than in previous campaigns. He has all the tools needed to go well here. The only stumbling block could be that he has been around the block now and teams might have worked out how to get the better of him.
Sean Abbott, Jhye Richardson and Nathan Ellis are all 16/1 to be the leading bowler this season. Sean Abbott was it a couple of campaigns ago but he is too close to the Australia side for my liking while Jhye Richardson has too many injury troubles for me to be parting with my hard earned on him. As a Hampshire fan I’m a massive fan of Nathan Ellis but he captains the Hobart Hurricanes and that isn’t a situation that I like to invest in.
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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 and generally in the main spinners don’t go as well in this competition because two of the middle overs are wiped out with the power surge.
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
The top bowler market isn’t one which floats my boat this season i have to say. I’m struggling to find much in the way of value this term particularly with so many players 20/1 or shorter. There isn’t too much value in outsiders down the betting either so I’ll just take the one go at it here and that comes via the Sydney Sixers bowler Ben Dwarshius, a player who has a decent record in this competition down the years and who has done enough franchise events now to be a threat.
Dwarshius was the third highest wicket taker last season and might be even more important to the Sixers this term given that Sean Abbott isn’t as guaranteed to be available as he usually is. You would imagine with their record that the Sixers would still push for a spot in the playoffs which could give him more matches than some others to improve his standings. Dwarshius is a good one day bowler who is probably a little overpriced at around the 22/1 mark.
Tips
Back B.Dwarshius Top Tournament Bowler (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 23.00 with Betway (1/4 1-4)
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