SuperCoach BBL: How to plan for rain in the Big Bash League final

The $25,000 SuperCoach BBL prize will be decided on Saturday, although the chances of play at the SCG appear minimal. Here’s how you can capitalise on any action in the BBL final and score maximum points.

Josh Hazlewood celebrates a wicket with Sixers teammates James Vince and Josh Philippe.

The likelihood of a rain-shortened Big Bash League final is set to play havoc with the deciding round of SuperCoach BBL.

Sydney Sixers are due to host either Melbourne Stars or Sydney Thunder in Saturday’s decider at the SCG, although up to 50mm is forecast to hit Sydney.

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The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted the worst of the storm will come on Saturday night, with the final scheduled to start at 7.10pm.

Nine matches in BBL09 have been affected by weather, giving SuperCoaches a form guide to work with when planning their team for Round 17.

There have been three games where less than 20 overs have been played, with 50.2 per cent of SuperCoach scores coming from bowling points and 39 per cent from batting.

Josh Hazlewood celebrates a wicket with Sixers teammates James Vince and Josh Philippe.

Targeting as many bowlers as possible appears the smart play due to Saturday’s miserable forecast.

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Of the 500 points scored by batsmen in those three matches, 109 came from the blade of Brisbane Heat’s Tom Banton when he clubbed a 16-ball fifty against Sydney Thunder.

Otherwise, batsmen have largely failed to have significant influence in fixtures reduced to less than 20 overs.

In the December 30 match between Hobart Hurricanes and Melbourne Stars in Launceston, 63 per cent of scores were from batting points.

Captains Glenn Maxwell and Ben McDermott chat after the Stars-Hurricanes match was called off.

There were several key take aways from those three matches:

— Relying on batsmen in rain-affected fixtures is asking for trouble: Glenn Maxwell finished on 0 (0) when the Stars-Hurricanes game was washed out and only scored 10 SuperCoach points due to a catch.

— Bowlers are the safest bet for points: Eight wickets fell in 18.3 overs at UTAS Stadium and Dale Steyn, Nathan Coulter-Nile and James Faulkner bagged multiple wickets.

— The likelihood of economy rate bonus is heavily reduced: If a match is washed out and a bowler has delivered 1.4 overs (Nathan Ellis vs Sydney Sixers), they miss out on an economy bonus. A slugfest means a bowler’s chances of conceding less than eight an over to gain the economy rate bonus are unlikely.

— Target players who bowl in the powerplay. Scott Boland and Clive Rose bowled two overs against Sydney Sixers in a game abandoned after 6.4 overs and both scored 45.

Unlike regular playing conditions, SuperCoach BBL does not require five overs a team to be completed for scores to count.

Scores are active from the first ball of a match and bench totals are only used in the event of a DNP (did not play).

If an on-field player features but scores 0, their score (or lack thereof) counts to your overall total.

Keep your fingers crossed the storm forecast for Sydney somehow avoids the SCG, but it’s worth planning for the worst in SuperCoach.

Originally published as SuperCoach BBL: How to plan for rain in the Big Bash League final