SuperCoach BBL: L-plate guide to Australia’s biggest cricket fantasy game

SuperCoach BBL is Australia’s biggest cricket fantasy game — an internet phenomenon with almost 100,000 participants and $57,000 prize pool. Here’s how it works.

Tom Sangster

@TomSangsterSC

2 min read

October 30, 2019 - 9:28AM

News Corp Australia

SuperCoach BBL

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SuperCoach BBL is Australia’s biggest cricket fantasy game — an internet phenomenon with almost 100,000 participants and $57,000 prize pool.

Here’s how it works.

You’re a real coach, with a salary cap to spend, a team to pick and games to win.

Each of your players receives a score every round based on their real-life, game-day statistics, earning a total score for your team.

Take on your mates in leagues for ultimate bragging rights, and also track your progress against all other SuperCoaches in the hunt for the $25,000 major prize and $57,000 total prize pool (full prizing structure below).

SuperCoach BBL has launched and is ready for sign-ups.

Once signed-up:

* YOU have a $2 million salary cap and 16 players to pick.

* FILL each position. You need 7x batsmen, 2x wicket keepers and 7x bowlers. Allrounders are dual position players, selectable as either batsmen or bowlers, while wicket keepers are also dual position players, selectable as batsmen or wicket keepers.

* CHANGE your initial squad as often as you like until round one starts.

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Chris Lynn will be a popular captaincy choice.

* BEFORE each round, choose a starting 11. Only these players score points for your side. Select one of these players as captain; he earns double points, and a vice captain as back up.

* KEEP a close eye on the Big Bash schedule as some teams have byes in particular rounds, while others play twice. If a team plays twice in a round, points are scored for BOTH matches, making these players serious trade targets and logical captaincy choices (hint: Sydney Sixers have two double games in the first three rounds. This means they play five games when most other teams play just three. Load up).

Sydney Sixers players will be extremely popular due to a favorable schedule. Picture: Phil Hillyard

* YOU also need to juggle the availability of overseas and Australian national players as they come in and out of BBL. Lowdown here.

* THE season is broken into 17 rounds, generally consisting of 4-5 matches — 13 regular season rounds and four finals rounds.

Melbourne Renegades are the reigning Big Bash champions.

* DURING the season, you have three trades per round (39 total) to build your side into a SuperCoach powerhouse. Unused trades are not transferable. SuperCoaches then have unlimited trades for Rounds 14-17 (finals) as the number of BBL teams still live in the competition reduces.

* PLAYER prices move up and down like a stock market after a player has played their first game, and every game thereafter. If you’ve played SuperCoach NRL or AFL formats before, you’ll be used to a three-match rolling average, which also sees a player’s price increase or decrease depending on their output. However, in SuperCoach BBL, price changes will occur right from Round 1 — not after a player has played in three matches. It’s this small bit of detail coaches will need to be on top of from the first ball.