With the Caribbean Premier League season beginning on Tuesday, there is enough time to look at the runners and riders when it comes to the potential leading run scorers this season, with plenty of bookmakers offering up a top batsman market.
Brandon King of the Guyana Amazon Warriors was the leading batsman in the tournament last season even though the Guyanese lot played one less game than the team which beat them in the final.
Recent Winners
2019 – Brandon King (496)
2018 – Colin Munro (567)
2017 – Chadwick Walton (458)
2016 – Chris Lynn (454)
2015 – Chris Gayle (430)
2014 – Lendl Simmons (446)
2013 – Shoaib Malik (272)
The Favourites
Last year’s leading scorer Brandon King is the 9/1 favourite to top score this season. He was well clear in the batting charts last term but that was the only season he has delivered the goods in to date so there is an air of him being an uneasy favourite. In saying that, he is likely to open for the Amazon Warriors so that is a pretty important box ticked. He has tasted international honours since last season with moderate success. He feels like a wrong favourite.
Chris Lynn was the top scorer in this tournament in 2016 and he is a 10/1 shot to repeat that feat here. I’m always uneasy about the Australian and his ability to play spin and that is a big concern. The flip side of that is that when seam comes down at him he can be among the most destructive in the world. Teams know that though so I don’t envisage him getting much other than spin sent down at him so I can’t be backing him even at a double figure price.
There are a trio of players at 12/1 and they are all international cricketers in this format of the game. Evin Lewis is one of the leading players in the West Indies team and he is one of those at this price. There isn’t a huge amount not to like about him except the Patriots perhaps not going deep in the tournament. Glenn Phillips has been one of the best batsmen in the competition in recent seasons while it was only two years ago that Colin Munro topped the run charts. He is a big hitter but whether conditions suit remains to be seen. It is 14/1 bar.
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Profile
Whenever we bet on these markets we have to whittle the field down. There is no point trying to pick the winner out of a 40 runner field so if we can get that down to half of that number it is much better so there are two factors we can apply to our criteria to help us out. With a possible two more innings for making the playoffs anyone we back needs to be in a team who are going to make the semi-finals at least and preferably the final. The other thing we can apply is that it will be easier to bat against the new ball, so we either need someone in the top three or who is very good at playing spin.
Betting
When I apply that criteria I get two selections. The first of those is Glenn Phillips who in two full seasons in this competition has finished second and fourth. His fourth last season was particularly impressive because the Jamaica Tallawahs were terrible and never looked like making the playoffs. That shows that there is a chance for him to get in the mix even if they stink the place out again. Phillips is a big hitter but he has the ability to turn the strike over. Crucially he opens the batting for the Tallawahs so he’ll be able to take advantage of the fielding restrictions which will be important this season. At 10/1 he looks a more than fair bet to top this market.
Further down the betting I can’t resist a cheeky punt on Darren Bravo, a player who is renowned as being one of the best players of spin in the world not just this competition. It is hard to see the Trinbago Knight Riders not making the final four so that is one box that is ticked and although he isn’t going to open the batting, he should be high enough up the order to get some significant game time. With a couple of T20 World Cup tournaments on the horizon this could be a big event for Bravo, especially with the next one in India, and at 33/1 he rates as a decent outsider.
Tips
PLACED – Back G.Phillips Top Season Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 11.00 with Betfair (1/4 1-4)
PLACED – Back Darren Bravo Top Season Batsman for a 0.5/10 stake at 34.00 with Betfair (1/4 1-4)
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