Supercoach BBL Final Word: Round 9 captains, PODs, weather watch

We’re down to the final round of the Supercoach Big Bash season, and the finale is riddled with uncertainty.

Genuine rain is currently threatening game one and game four, conveniently the Sydney Sixers on the double game week feature in BOTH of these fixtures.

I feel for those ranked at the pointy end of the overall rankings that are fighting for the title, get ready for a few sleepless nights…

If I had to define the Cooma Stallions season in one word it’d be stagnant.

We scored 829 points in round 8 to move ever so slightly to remain around 2,500^th overall.

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I feel like very little has gone right this season, but the rank remains okay.

I emphasise the word okay as it’s felt a lot worse than 2,500^th.

We’ve sat around that mark for a fair while with little movement, disappointing but hanging in.

We discussed our season learnings on the most recent SC Playbook podcast, and there has been one major take away from the Supercoach BBL15 campaign for me.

I’ve been a little too caught up in pedigree over form on a number of stars.

Historically good Supercoach players such as Glenn Maxwell, Jason Behrendorff and Mitch Owen have made their way into my team and for far too long.

I backed their historical Supercoach output – which is completely fine and how you should approach the game – but unfortunately I held on too long and didn’t cut the cord at the right time.

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I feel that Supercoaches with pedigree from past years deserve an extra round or two than the average underperformer, but you must also know when they’re simply off their game and sell them as a result.

Supercoach BBL is great for so many reasons, but it’s this that I love.

There are core factors to success that centre around navigating fixtures, player role and form, but finding the right balance of these can be tough.

Anyhow, that’s my major lesson from BBL15, always back the eye test!

Let’s take a look at the Final Word ahead of Supercoach BBL round 9.

Weather watch

All weather is courtesy of the Bureau of Meteorology as of Friday, 9AM. Forecasts are subject to change.

Verdict: Oh dear…The Sixers double is in major doubt with rain around. The Heat game on Sunday is a few days away, so plenty could change for better or worse between now and then.

As always, keep an eye on the forecast leading into game one. If there’s little to no play likely I’ll be cutting ties with any existing Sixers players and changing my trade plan to single game week players featuring in the two dry games.

The toss in game one will be vital too, provided we get it before lockout starts.

If the Sixers bat first you can probably still grab the likes of Steve Smith or Josh Philippe, if they bowl first you can grab their bowling contingent with a little more confidence.

As long as there’s a decent amount of play anticipated for game one I’ll stick with tactics around the Sixers.

Looking ahead

No need to look too far, the Sydney Sixers are on the double and the Hobart Hurricanes are on the bye!

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Super PODs

In the Final Word, we’ll look at the super POD options, the players at under 10% ownership (among the top 10% ranked coaches once rankings roll in) that could send you soaring (or falling) up the overall ranks.

They come with big risk, but the reward is immense if it comes off.

Last week, Xavier Bartlett and Matt Renshaw both delivered in fine style with scores of 91 and 65 respectively!

Both these men remain great buys, however they do play in the last game of the season with rain forecast which makes it tricky.

Alex Carey – $136,200 – 6.8% & Usman Khawaja – $158,300 – 0.9%

Why not back the class to rise to the top in the final round?

We see time and time again the gap between Big Bash cricketers and International cricketers, especially when it comes to Australian players who know the conditions.

I’m not sure there’s an Australian Test player (that thrives in T20 formats), that hasn’t come back into the BBL over the years that hasn’t had moments of brilliance.

At next to no ownership this week you have Carey and Khawaja who are simply a class above their rivals.

Carey looks an excellent pick up to me at Adelaide Oval this week.

Khawaja is the real flyer at 0.9%, the risk in him is that he’s in a bat only role which can backfire quickly, he plays the final game which has rain forecast and he faces a pretty red-hot Sixers bowling attack. There’s numerous red flags…

Carey is my play, and for anyone feeling wild you can go Khawaja on an excellent deck in Brisbane.

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Captains

Let’s look at this on two fronts, the first being that the Sixers v Thunder clash is clear come ball one and we lock in a vice-captain from that game.

It is absolutely wide open…

Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Ben Dwarshuis, Sean Abbott, Joel Davies, Jack Edwards, Sam Curran…

There’s a case for essentially the whole line-up!

Edwards currently has the best role, but I do feel his overs are under threat with the return of Starc.

It’s so dangerous, but if the weather looks good and importantly the Sixers bat first, you’d nearly just give it to Smith who thrives in the BBL.

He’s expensive though, and plenty won’t own.

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Let’s say the Sixers bowl first, I don’t mind a Sean Abbott play at all. He’s absolute class, proven in Supercoach and is more likely in my opinion to play both games of the double than Mitch Starc who is also a quality pick.

Curran is also an attractive option with a good role, I do fear he’ll only bowl a couple of overs though as he did in his opening game.

If the VC fails, or rain comes, it’s wide open for captaincy picks.

I’d avoid the Heat with rain lingering for the final game.

Matt Short, Cooper Connolly, Aaron Hardie, Marcus Stoinis, options galore!

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The Stars are fairly erratic with their roster, so who knows what role Stoin will play.

You can make a case for any of the above and I wouldn’t argue, but I feel Connolly is set to explode.

He’s been a little underwhelming with the bat at times but the signs are there.

I’m expecting runs from the young gun in Perth, and his role with the ball has become more and more prominent as the tournament has progressed.

Not only is he bowling frequently, but he’s taking poles with wickets in seven straight games!

Should the Sixers VC flop, I think I’ll hand the captain’s armband to young Coops.