Thommo Aitken
2019 SuperCoach BBL overall champion
Gun Show: Top 10 players to target
Last year's SuperCoach BBL champion Thommo Aitken lists his top 10 players you need to target for the run home.
Gun Show
January 19, 2021
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I’ve taken a slightly different approach to the article this week.
This week instead of looking at some ‘gun’ options for the upcoming round, we will instead be looking at the top 10 ‘guns’ to have in your side for the final stretch of the season.
These type of players are crucial for the run home. With no more double game weeks on the schedule and only single game rounds remaining for each team, coaches will want to trade in or retain players who are unlikely to produce a stinky score and have the potential to score some big points for your team.
Embed from Getty ImagesOf course, weather, match ups, form and luck can influence a players score for the round, but here are 10 major players that may impact your team and push your ranking in the right direction.
Some players on this list will be easy to guess, but I wonder if there are any surprises here?
Leave your top 10 guns in the comments section to tell us who are the big dogs you will want to have in your team to finish strong!
1) Jhye Richardson (Scorchers)
The leading wicket-taker so far in the BBL with 19 wickets in 10 matches. He was an unstoppable force at home regularly taking bags of wickets.
The rest of the Perth Scorchers games are on the road this year, but his form and his bowling versality (powerplay, power surge and death) will mean there will still be plenty of wickets on offer for him.
We have only seen it on limited occasions this season, but he can bat and score some extra points this way too.
2) Daniel Sams (Thunder)
An obvious inclusion on the list. After returning to the Thunder side, he is someone I am looking to bring into my side ASAP. He has taken at least one wicket every time he has bowled this tournament, but is yet to take a bag of wickets and I think this will happen before the end of the BBL.
He has showed us his true potential with the bat as well and he seems to be enjoying the use of the power surge when he is in the middle.
He has scored quickly and reached 50 twice this tournament already. He barely made 50 runs the whole of the previous tournament!
*UPDATE: Sams is expected to miss the final three games of the regular season with an injured hand.
3) Glenn Maxwell (Stars)
Whilst he can produce the occasional poor performance, there is no one more exciting and dangerous when he is on song, and when he is in form he racks up massive scores SuperCoach wise.
Although expensive at times when bowling, he is taking the odd wicket and regularly bowling overs for the Stars.
We all know his ability to score runs too and he has already made two scores of around 70 in quick time during the tournament.
I think the Stars might finish with a wet sail too and it would not surprise if Maxy scores big if the Stars hit good form.
Embed from Getty Images4) Dan Christian (Sixers)
Perhaps a polarising selection at the start of the tournament, but I think Christian has solidified his place for me in the top 10 guns of the BBL.
Coming off an underwhelming season with the Renegades (where he didn’t play much) and some uncertainty of his playing role in the Sixers side, he loomed as an intriguing prospect.
But, what a star he has been for the mighty Sydney Sixers! He has largely been economical when bowling his overs and he bowls tough overs for the Sixers generally.
He bowls during the power surge or at the end of the innings and Daniel Hughes has also chucked him the ball when the Sixers are in a bit of trouble and need a wicket to change the momentum of the game too!
He has also played some games where he has taken full advantage of the power surge and got the Sixers home. He also seems to field in positions where he can take a catch or two during the game as well. I love this bloke!
5) Adam Zampa (Stars)
Rashid Khan has now left the tournament, so Zampa is clearly the best spinner in the BBL. His form is trending the right way too which is always good when selecting your SuperCoach side.
Some of his recent performances, especially those in wet conditions have demonstrated his control and poise too.
He’s had 2/7, 2/20 and then a magnificent 5/17 in his most recent game in the first game of his double game round. He is also bowling well and taking wickets in the power surge recently. Let’s just hope that shoulder is okay!
6) Josh Philippe (Sixers)
He might not be on everyone’s top 10, but if you have comfortably scored the most runs in the competition thus far, you need to be on this list as far as I’m concerned.
An indifferent start to the tournament, where low scores were more frequent than high scores, my boy Philippe has seemed to have found his groove recently with knocks of 84 and 64 in match winning performances.
His strike-rate has been impressive recently too and he can always pick up those wicket-keeper catches which is always handy.
7) D’Arcy Short (Hurricanes)
Whilst not amassing nearly as many runs as previous tournaments, I still have D’Arcy Short as a player I want in my team on a single game round.
Incredibly, he has had as many amazing bowling performances as he has batting performances. He has taken three wickets twice so far and was very economical in those bowling performances.
He only has two scores above 50 this tournament, but that last knock over in Perth against the Hurricanes might just be the one that gets him back into form to finish off the tournament in style!
8) Chris Lynn (Heat)
I haven’t had Lynn in my side at any stage this year, but he is someone to strongly consider for the single game weeks during the run home.
He is scoring with remarkable consistency this year and since returning from injury he has looked incredible when opening for the Heat.
Yes, he has been lucky in some recent digs and been put down by opposition sides, but that is T20 cricket as the SC Spy likes to say!
30, 48, 56 and 50 are his innings since returning and that is good going. In fact, he is yet to score under that magic 20 mark, so he has got his strike-rate bonus in every game this year.
9) Marcus Stoinis (Stars)
We are all waiting for him to bowl and then he becomes just about the most valuable SuperCoach gun on the market, but he has just done enough with his batting this season to be included on this list.
We got a teaser in his last match with one over to his name.
His score of 97 not out against the Hurricanes stands out, but he has also produced decent knocks of 61, 34 and 47 this tournament too.
10) Sean Abbott (Sixers)
The sneaky selection in the top 10 guns for the run home. The lack of actual game cricket (rather than just training) and the expensive price are a concern, but Sean Abbott has been a SuperCoach gun for a long time.
He had 14 wickets in just seven games last year and 22 wickets in 15 games when you go back one more season.
He can also hit the cricket ball a long way and I could possibly see the Sixers sending him in at number seven above Braithwaite if/when he does return to BBL cricket. One gun to monitor with interest for sure!
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