POD Hunter: Unique players to find an edge, Rd 3

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After a bit of an average round, I’m definitely feeling in need of a POD or two. It’s still early days though, so I’m trying to not panic too much.

There’s still plenty of players available with ownership of 10% or less. However, keep in mind that these figures include every SuperCoach team in the game.

This data can be skewed by inactive teams from SuperCoaches who put a side in, then never look at it again.

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It’s also worth considering that the highest scoring players will often be owned by top ranked SuperCoach teams, as they’re the players that got these teams high up the rankings in the first place.

For this reason, I’m often looking for players who haven’t notched a big score yet but are capable of doing so.

I suspect this is a little more difficult to do in cricket than in other sports, as form may play more of a role.

However, I think the principle still applies. This tactic also has the added benefit of being able to pickup players when they’re underpriced.

The focus for most SuperCoaches will now be pretty squarely on the Strikers’ double game week.

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Wes Agar ($155.7k, 1.5% owned), Danny Briggs ($131.8k, 2.5% owned), Peter Siddle ($179.3k, 6.7% owned), Phil Salt ($117k, 7.3% owned), Dan Worrall ($120.4k, 8.9% owned) were all low ownership as at Round 2.

We saw what Agar, Siddle and Worrall can do, all scoring well in Round 2. Salt and Briggs were both disappointing.

Salt got out to quality left-arm swing from James Faulkner in both games. He comes up against the Heat and Scorchers next round.

I think both these sides have swing bowlers that could trouble him, particularly the Scorchers. You will be able to pickup Salt at a discount though, if you want to take the punt.

I’d prefer the Strikers bowlers at this point. Danny Briggs would be a risky pick given his figures and that he only bowled one over in his last match. The others are all excellent choices.

Outside of the Strikers’ players there are a few PODs that I’m considering, or will at least keep an eye on. I’ll start with a couple from the Sixers and Renegades, who are the next teams with double game weeks in Round 6.

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From the Sixers, Ben Dwarshuis ($180.8k, 5.5% owned) has looked awesome with the ball, claiming seven wickets in two matches.

He goes alright with the bat too, so he is a chance of nabbing a few handy batting points from time-to-time.

It looks like he’ll bat around 8 behind Christian and Braithwaite. Nonetheless, getting him in before other SuperCoaches could be a solid POD play.

I’ve been interested to see Beau Webster’s ($136.6k, 2.4% owned) increased role with the ball for the Renegades.

He was very handy with the ball in the Gades’ first game against the Scorchers, claiming 1/14 from three overs.

His figures weren’t as good in the big loss to the Sixers, with 0/37 from four overs. All the Renegades’ bowler’s figures were poor in this game though, largely due to Josh Philippe’s exceptional innings.

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Webster is two metres tall and his off spinners look an interesting proposition. He was great with the bat for the Gades last season, scoring 425 runs at 42.5 and an S/R of 132. However, I only like him if bowling regularly. There is a risk as to whether this continues once Will Sutherland returns.

Ben McDermott ($97k, 12.5%) is over 10% owned but I suspect this may include a large number of inactive SuperCoaches, given that he was unavailable for Round 1.

In the Hurricanes’ last match, McDermott batted at three, scoring 46 runs at a S/R of 139.4 and keeping wickets. He has a fantastic T20 career batting average of 33.5 at a S/R of 132.5.

I’ll be keeping an eye on Mitchell Swepson’s ($105.9k, 8.7% owned) availability for the Heat.

I see him as being able to match Adam Zampa’s output, at around $70k less. If he is made available for the Heat, I think he’s unlikely to be called in for any Australian duties until the spin friendly SCG test.

This starts on 7 January, by which time Swepson could have bagged a heap of BBL wickets and risen significantly in price.

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Thunder opener Alex Hales ($148.7k, 9.6% owned) could soon be available at a decent discount.

He’s dropped below $150k and has a score of 10 in his rolling average. I like his ceiling, with 3 x T20 centuries in his career and a high score of 89 in the BBL. If he has a matchup or run of matchups you like at some stage, consider jumping on.

We keep mentioning him but Jason Behrendorff ($113.7k, 5.3% owned) still looks great value to me.

I am inclined to have at least one more look at him this round. He should be back for the Scorchers after missing the last game for the birth of his child.

I haven’t covered any Stars players given they have the bye this week. I’ll cover them in the next article.

VERDICT

It’s hard to go past the Strikers options as the only team with a double game this round.

Outside of them, I like Ben McDermott and Mitchell Swepson (if available for the Heat) as PODs who could increase in value and setup your team well for the rest of the season.

Keep an eye on the weather forecast before making trades though. There’s a bit around that could impact this round.

Enjoy the first Test and good luck for Round 3!