POD Hunter: Unique players to find an edge, Rd 5

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Having seen Ollie Davies tear apart one of my main POD selections and VC, Mohammad Nabi, in round 4, I’ve licked my wounds and am back again for another crack at it. What a weapon Davies looks like!

The Renegades present an interesting conundrum for SuperCoaches this round. They look in real trouble as a team. However, they’re packed full of former SC guns.

The Gades form line is very concerning. It’s even more fascinating that this is the team that staged one of the biggest turnarounds ever in a Cricket final to win BBL08. Can they do the same for an entire tournament?

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Being a team in crisis, I look straight to the team’s leadership to turn it around. In this case not just the captain of his BBL team, but of his country. Aaron Finch (15.1% owned) will need to lead from the front and could be set to unleash. He has a higher SC ceiling than most batsman, with eight T20 centuries to his name.

On the other side of the form line, the Sixers will still be riding a high following their massive run chase vs the Stars. Their squad is packed full of all-rounders, which makes it a little harder to identify their guns.

So far, we’ve looked at Ben Dwarshuis (6.5% owned) and Steve O’Keefe (5.6% owned) as PODs. Dwarshuis felt the full force of Glenn Maxwell and Nicholas Pooran to go for 47 in his four overs. Meanwhile, SOK curiously only bowled two overs whilst still nabbing two wickets.

Daniel Hughes (7.2% owned) played an incredible knock with the bat and should still be around the $100k mark this coming round. However, he bats a fraction low for my liking at number 4.

The Sixers’ new international, Jake Ball ($125k, 0% owned!), is another POD pick from their side this round. He brings good form from the Vitality Blast, having claimed 13 wickets from seven matches.

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His career record supports his strike bowling ability, claiming a wicket every 16.6 balls in T20s. He can be expensive at times though, going for 8.58 runs per over across his T20 career.  

Adam Milne (1.1% owned) has put in some eye-catching performances for the Thunder, with 0/17 (four overs) and 2/21 (three overs). The Thunder have a double game week on the horizon in round 8. He should also still be decent value, around $130k, next round.

17 ball fifty for Nicholas Pooran. He cuts, he pulls and he can slice the ball for six, a top talent from Caribbean soil. pic.twitter.com/chPtAlIWAp

— Ahmer Najeeb (@AhmerNajeeb) December 26, 2020

Nicholas Pooran (1.9% owned) was incredible in his first game for the Stars, destroying the Sixers’ bowling attack and netting a 100-point SC score in the process. However, the blazing West Indian was another that was too far down the batting order for my liking.

The Heat were bolstered by their latest English import, Lewis Gregory (0.8% owned). Gregory looked deceptively quick with the ball and took three wickets in no time.

He was less effective with the bat, chopping on to score 1 off 4 balls. However, his career and recent Vitality Blast stats suggest he strikes them well, averaging over 20 and striking around 150.

The Heat’s double game week isn’t too far away, coming up in round 8. Gregory is a touch expensive though, starting at $175k pre-price changes.

The world’s number one T20 batsman, Dawid Malan (4.1% owned), fell to one of Gregory’s changes in pace. Malan’s debut for the Hurricanes was otherwise uneventful, scoring 15 from 16 balls.

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Malan could have done serious damage with more time at the crease. He blasted 99 not out from 47 balls to help England chase down 192 against South Africa in his last T20 before arriving in Australia.

I haven’t seen the Perth Scorchers vs Adelaide Strikers match at the time of writing. However, there are two players who I’ll be keeping an eye on.  

A few savvy SuperCoaches highlighted Mitch Marsh (15.7% owned) as a POD last week. Marsh found form with the bat in round 4 and is reported to be available to bowl again. He’ll be an excellent trade in option if he can find form with the ball as well.

Last week we talked about Jhye Richardson (13.8% owned) as a POD. The watch on him is if he can secure a decent spot in the batting order. He hits them well, striking at 131.8 and averaging 17.7 with the bat. 

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Ollie Davies is on FIRE! 🔥 #BBL10 pic.twitter.com/rQBbfkvylX

— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) December 26, 2020

Verdict

I find it hard to go past Finch as a POD selection given his ceiling and upcoming double game week.

My preference with the Sixers PODs is to give them another week to get a better grasp on everyone’s role with the new team make-up.

Adam Milne looks to me to be the best value pick of the teams with a round 8 double game week (Heat and Thunder).

From the other teams, I like either Marsh or Richardson if they are given sufficient opportunities with bat and ball in the last game of round 4.

The rounds are starting to come thick and fast now. It feels like cricket is on 24/7, which I’m loving! Enjoy and good luck for round 5.