Thommo Aitken
2019 SuperCoach BBL overall champion
Gun Show: Star players to target and avoid, Rd 9
Last year's SuperCoach BBL champion Thommo Aitken eyes the top dollar players to target and steer clear of.
Gun Show
January 10, 2021
- POD HUNTER: Unique players to find an edge over rivals
- SUBSCRIBER SPECIAL: Question and answer podcast
We are now over halfway through the BBL season. Can you believe that!?
No doubt you have made some wonderful manoeuvrers and trades which would have scored you many points, but other times you have zigged when you should have zagged.
All of us SuperCoaches have these moments and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Embed from Getty ImagesAs mentioned on the podcast I am very excited about the possible trade in options that we have at our disposal during the upcoming rounds.
The last of our double game round occurs in Round 10 where we see the Perth Scorchers having their only double of the season and we also see the Melbourne Stars having their second double of the season.
There are many options we have to choose from and the right decision may prove crucial for your side. Here are some big name players to consider trading in.
Glenn Maxwell (Stars)
He is the highest owned player in the game, so many people will not need to trade for him in preparation for the double.
However, if you do not own make sure you have him ready for Round 10. He already has three massive scores of 148 (over the double round), 143 and 150.
He looks dangerous with the bat and can just go absolutely ballistic during a power surge. He is also bowling some overs each game which just adds to his point scoring potential.
Marcus Stoinis (Stars)
I am trying to read the tea leaves to see when he will make this long awaited return to the bowling crease.
I think when he eventually does it will be a heavily reduced bowling load and not his full allotment of overs.
Dave Hussey indicated recently that it won’t be till a bit later in the month you will see him bowl game day.
Nevertheless, the way he is batting alone means he will be in my side soon enough. His last two digs in particular when he made 97 not out and then a quick 34 in the rain-affected match against the Heat.
Adam Zampa (Stars)
A quality spinner for the Stars that needs heavy consideration for your trade ins. He showed control and poise in the greasy conditions at Metricon last game when he took 2/7 off his two overs.
He is usually economical when bowling, but has gone for major runs in two performances so far this season.
The pleasing thing though when he did go for runs he did pick up two and then three wickets and therefore still scored solid SuperCoach points. I wouldn’t be expecting many batting points, but he is not hopeless with the bat either.
Embed from Getty ImagesLiam Livingstone (Scorchers)
He can bowl, but I think it is unlikely unless the ball is spinning heaps at those away games. If you bring him in you are relying on batting points.
He should get ample opportunities opening the batting after initially coming in at four when first arriving this tournament.
He hasn’t made a big score yet this tournament, which is a slight knock, but we did see last year that he can go big and score rapidly on his day. He had two scores in the 70s, but his most impressive knock was 69 runs off just 26 balls.
Jason Roy (Scorchers)
Perhaps looking slightly the better of the two English imports at the top of the Perth Scorchers team.
No massive score so far in the tournament, but he has reached 20 in all innings (except for his latest match against the Thunder). He has not shown his true potential thus far in the tournament, but could be one to consider that others may overlook.
Colin Munro (Scorchers)
Munro did surprise me when I looked at how he had been going this tournament. I thought he looked like he was struggling, especially picking some spin bowlers, but on closer examination he has made three fifties and a 49 so far.
He seems to be scoring well at home (three straight 50s at Optus Stadium) but needs to come under consideration for their round 10 double, even if those games are being played away from “The Furnace”.
At the time of writing he is priced quite nicely and is set to rise in value (negative breakeven entering the round) so if you are considering he would be an earlier trade in compared to others.
One minor thing to monitor is that he did not take the field last night due to what was described as some sort of quad injury. He will go for some scans and we will need to see what they tell us to see if he will miss any games.
Josh Inglis (Scorchers)
Since moving down from opening the batting he has looked far more comfortable and is scoring many, many more runs.
He has batted at three or four since and the results speak for themselves. He has since past the 20 run mark in each innings, with the highlight being 72 not out that he made against the Renegades.
He is the wicket-keeper too and could get some extra points through catches and stumpings too which is an added bonus.
Mitch Marsh (Scorchers)
The all-rounder in the Perth set up and as we know an all-rounder over a double game week is usually a recipe for success.
In terms of his bowling, he is bowling more than many would have anticipated and is looking in control and has shown he can take a wicket, claiming three of them in eight overs bowled.
The fact that he is bowling well should mean that he gets a minimum of two overs a game and could possibly bowl three and claim those extra points.
When batting he looks dangerous, especially in the power surge and the later overs with his big hitting capabilities. He has two fifties already in the tournament and he could be set for more.
Jhye Richardson (Scorchers)
He has been the best bowler for the Scorchers to date in the tournament. He is bowling quick but also bowling with great craft.
This has meant he is the leading wicket-taker for the Scorchers so far with 13 wickets in seven matches and then adding more to his tally last night against the Thunder to become the leading wicket-taker in the whole competition.
His economy rate is very decent too, only going at 6.50 runs per over. In other words he gains points through wickets but also due to his economy rate.
He has taken three wickets on three different occasions in the tournament, and then last game against the Thunder he managed four wickets!
He is expensive because he is good, and he is set to rise in price even more before his double game round.
He can bowl at the beginning, during the power surge, but also at the death too. He even had a cameo with the bat last night making 20 not out off just 8 balls.
I just need to get him into my side ASAP. I know Kane Richardson surprised and disappointed during his double game week, but I don’t see this happening for his namesake Jhye!
Embed from Getty ImagesAJ Tye (Scorchers)
A slow and indifferent start to the tournament but he is mirroring the team and starting to hit form, but more importantly take wickets.
He is a competitor on the field and looks hungry to take wickets which is something you would love as an owner.
4/20 and 127 SC points when the Scorchers were dominant over the Sixers in his best performance of the season.
This perfectly demonstrated his point scoring potential, especially when bowling second after the Perth batsmen have posted an impressive total.
Jason Behrendorff (Scorchers)
He has yet to hit his straps this tournament, taking only 0 or 1 wicket in the games he has played before taking 2/25 last game against the Thunder.
This corresponds to the last time during the BBL when he played a substantial amount of a season he did only take 9 wickets from 11 games and his best figures were 2/16.
This is something to take note of, however, with Perth in impressive form one would imagine that his time in the sun would come and a bag of wickets is possible.
Another small factor to note is that he seems to be more likely to bowl three over than his full four overs with the current Perth set up.
Fawad Ahmad (Scorchers)
At the moment he is bowling behind an attack that is starting to hit form and this I think will benefit him greatly.
In previous seasons he has scored big with scores of 125 and 123 just last year. Another interesting statistic is that he has taken at least three wickets in a match in every BBL tournament dating back the last six years. He is yet to take three wickets with two being his best so far. When will he take a bag this year?
Embed from Getty ImagesMonitor
Nathan Coulter-Nile (Stars)
He has only played three games this season due to injury, but just remember his first game where he scored a massive 169 points due to taking 4/10 with the ball and being involved in two run outs.
Due to this big score he is actually the highest averaging player in the game! He is reportedly targeting the game against the Adelaide Strikers on January 15, so monitor this space.
Zahir Khan
If people want a sneaky and cheap option for trades over the next little bit, I think one to monitor could potentially be Zahir Khan.
He is wicketless so far in the tournament (that is far from ideal!) but Pooran is leaving the Stars and this opens up an import spot and as a result he is again eligible for selection.
He is cheap and if you have limited options he may not be the worst, but please check squads first.
Ashton Turner (Scorchers)
He can score big and he looks to be the ultimate power surge option as evidenced last night when he took Chris Green downtown in his cameo innings of 31 off 13.
If your salary cap is tight he is not the worst option, it is just batting at six behind some people in form, it is a concern that his opportunities may be limited.
He is also next to no chance of getting any overs with the way the current Scorchers bowling line up is operating.
I will concede though if Colin Munro is out and he moves up in the order it does increase his prospects a tad.
Additionally, if the Perth openers do not hit their straps and occupy major crease time that could work in his favour too.
Embed from Getty ImagesAvoid
Haris Rauf (Stars)
Yes he took the competition by storm last season, but at this stage he is not someone I think I will be bringing into my side.
He could take many wickets like he did last tournament (20!), but I just get the sense players know what is coming and will be better prepared for him.
Recently he has been playing over in New Zealand where his form has been reasonable and he did take some wickets including 3/29 against New Zealand in a T20 international.
The performance against Brisbane in his only BBL game so far was not flash, but it was so wet it would be best to ignore and watch his next game more intently.
Embed from Getty ImagesThommo’s Top Targets
It is a very hard week to rank. Lots of players have the potential to score big and it could be a week where you go massive I reckon! Some of the slightly cheaper options have a large appeal in terms of trade ins, but here we go!
Number 1: Jhye Richardson
Number 2: Glenn Maxwell
Number 3: Marcus Stoinis
Number 4: Mitch Marsh
Number 5: AJ Tye
Number 6: Adam Zampa
Number 7: Josh Inglis
Number 8: Colin Munro (thinking some time off due to injury)
Number 9: Jason Roy
Number 10: Fawad Ahmed
Number 11: Jason Behrendorff
Number 12: Liam Livingstone
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.