SuperCoach BBL: Is Chris ‘Air’ Jordan the Perth Scorcher to make skipper for Round 6?

Perth Scorchers are on the double this round, so it makes logical sense to maximise your points opportunities by targeting them for your SuperCoach BBL side. But who to bring in? Only two of their players are averaging over 60 points per outing!

Chris ‘Air’ Jordan of the Scorchers is their only player averaging over 70 points per outing currently in SuperCoach BBL

Who needs players on double rounds when you have Chris Lynn? It was the second time that the Bash Brother has gone large this tournament, following on from his mammoth 189 SuperCoach BBL score in Round 2. Lynn’s form at the Gabba has been lacklustre so far, but he’s cashed in on the road, dominating first at the SCG against the Sixers and then down in Tasmania.

Watch every KFC Big Bash League match LIVE or On-Demand with KAYO SPORTS on your TV or favourite device. Get your 14-day free trial>

$1000 to be won every round: register for SuperCoach BBL now!

He was nearly pipped by Daniel Sams, the Dual Position player from Sydney Thunder, who continues to excel with the ball – he tallied 144 points against the Melbourne Stars and nearly pulled off the miracle of comebacks for his side as the Stars collapsed, just like they did against cross-town rivals the Renegades in last season’s final. This time around, the Stars got the win, with Pakistani surprise packet quick Haris Rauf dominating with 108 points before, once again, finding himself out of the side.

On the double, his teammate Marcus Stoinis dominated the second match in particular, totalling 90 points to go with his 73 in the first match of the round against the Thunder. If Stoinis can return to bowling, the likelihood is that he’ll reclaim his position as the #1 SuperCoach BBL player.

BOOM OF THE ROUND: CHRIS LYNN | BRISBANE HEAT | BAT | 148 points

It was a classic case of Lynnsanity, with the Brisbane Heat leader tonning up for the second time this season as he destroyed the Hurricanes. The master blaster – who is donating $250 for every 6 hit to bushfire relief – went large, and is sure to come in to many sides with the likes of SuperCoach favourite D’Arcy Short added to the Australian ODI squad due to tour India this month. Lynn is reaching a high price point now, at $208,500, rocketing into the top ten highest priced players in the game.

BUST OF THE ROUND: DAN CHRISTIAN | MELBOURNE RENEGADES | BAT / BWL | 52 and 0 points | $118,700

Selected in just under 20% of all sides in Round 5, Christian seemed a reasonably safe bet with the Renegades playing two matches. Instead, his form continued to be decidedly middling with a score just over 50 against the Sixers saving his blushes after a donut against the cross-town rivals that he destroyed in the final last year. His price has plummeted nearly $80,000 from where it began, which would normally make him a potential trade in option for those without him as he hits his cellar, but if he’s not bowling it’s hard to justify his selection.

UNIQUE OF THE ROUND: MAX BRYANT | BRISBANE HEAT | BAT | 108 points | 7.3% ownership

Last season, Bryant staked a claim to be a part of the Bash Brothers with McCullum and Chris Lynn. In BBL|09 he’s been partnered with English import Tom Banton at the top of the order and he has yet to get going, but he justified the faith of the few who still have him in their SuperCoach BBL squad, one of just 10 players to top the ton this round, and alongside Lynn and Sydney Thunder’s Daniel Sams the only player to do so in a single match. He’s very cheap at $82,300 – some $50,000 or so lower than his starting price point – and with Banton due to leave for international duties his role at the top of the order and in building partnerships with Lynn will become increasingly important for the Heat.

PLAYERS TO TARGET NEXT ROUND

Perth Scorchers are on the double this round, so it makes logical sense to maximise your points opportunities by targeting them for your SuperCoach BBL side. But who to bring in? Only two of their players are averaging over 60 points per outing, while the 62.8 avg. for Fawad Ahmed (BWL | $145,200) is skewed significantly by his 123 points in Round 3 – other than that he’s failed to crack 80 points in a single match. Elsewhere, Ashton Agar (BAT / BWL | 44.8 avg. | $126,000) may well be on his way to India by the time of the Scorchers’ second match, while Mitch Marsh (BAT / BWL | 43.6 avg. | $146,500) has thus far failed to live up to expectations. So if not the Scorchers, then who?

CHRIS JORDAN | PERTH SCORCHERS | BWL | 71.4 avg. | $187,900

Leaps and bounds ahead of any other Scorchers player, Air Jordan is showing all the hallmarks of being the Scorcher that you need in your SuperCoach BBL squad with his side on the double. His 52 point outing against the Strikers in Round 4 would appear to be an anomaly in his scoring chart, with every other round seeing him score in excess of 84 points. At a fairly handy price point and with a bye to follow in Round 7, it could be a case of chopping and changing Jordan with one of the Stars in your squad this round.

BEN MANENTI | SYDNEY SIXERS | BWL | 60.8 avg. | $142,900

Still at a reasonable price point, Manenti’s role for the Sixers is far from certain, but when he has played he has performed above expectations – against the Scorchers in the Sixers’ opening game of the season he picked up 64 points, then 94 a few days later against the Hurricanes saw him a firm trade-in target after Round 1. He somewhat justified it with 56 points – the equal second most for his side – against the Heat in Round 2, before missing both matches in Round 3 and the Sixers had the bye in Round 4. Just 29 against the Renegades was quite the drop-off in Round 5, but no player cracked more than 75 points in that match. If he gets named in the final XI, he could be a player to bring in this round.

A rare failure for Callum Ferguson of the Thunder makes him a slightly cheaper acquisition target this round

CALLUM FERGUSON | SYDNEY THUNDER | BAT | 67.2 avg. | $190,500

It was bound to happen eventually, but Ferg finally failed with the bat in Round 5. Presuming that he returns to the sort of form that he’s had thus far this season, now could be the time to get the Sydney Thunder captain in – while the Thunder don’t have a double round scoring opportunity they also don’t have a bye. As seen with the likes of Lynn and Rauf, a double round doesn’t mean a lot if you can have a single successful match.

$1000 to be won every round: register for SuperCoach BBL now!

PLAYERS TO AVOID NEXT ROUND

Did you bring a heap of Renegades and Stars players in, with the Melbourne teams both featuring twice in the most recent round? It’s time to ditch the Stars already, with the victors of the Melbourne derby set to put their feet up this round. But who else should you be looking to leave out?

JAMES FAULKNER | HOBART HURRICANES | BAT / BWL | 64.5 avg. | $188,000

If it’s fair to overlook the outlier of Ahmed’s 123 last time he played, then the same is true for Faulkner’s paltry score of 2 in the ‘Canes’ decimation at the hands of the Heat. That score aside, the veteran all-rounder is one of the form players in the SuperCoach BBL game, not scoring below 80 points in his three other outings. With Short set to tour India, Faulkner would seem likely to play an important role for the Hurricanes as the season progresses, and could be a nice set-and-forget from here...if only there wasn’t concern over his fitness following pulling up lame in the field against the Heat. If his calf injury is serious, he could potentially miss the remainder of the BBL season in a major blow for Hobart’s chances.

CAMERON GREEN | PERTH SCORCHERS | BAT / BWL | 12.0 avg. | $42,500

Yes, he’s on the double, but with the ostensible all-rounder – who started solely as a BWL before his exploits with the willow in the Marsh Cup and the Sheffield Shield necessitated an update – failing to score runs batting in the lower middle order, is he worth bringing in? The sole thing in his favour is that he remains a dirt-cheap option, barely over the $42,000 price point at which he began. Prior to the Scorchers’ bye he was in over 50% of all SuperCoach BBL squads.

Aaron Finch of the Renegades has yet to really set the Big Bash alight this season

AARON FINCH | MELBOURNE RENEGADES | BAT | 50.7 avg. | $158,300

Set to depart in the not too distant future to India to captain his country in the ODI series, Finch’s form has been middling at best – he has yet to crack the century mark in SuperCoach this season, and the stress on his face in the field indicates that he’s feeling the pressure of leading the reigning championship side that can’t seem to get going in their defence of their maiden title, currently staring down the barrel of an 0-6 ledger.

CAPTAIN’S CHOICE

If it’s a case of picking a player on a double round, the sensible money has the Scorchers’ Chris Jordan as the player in the frame. Cameron Bancroft made his second SuperCoach score in excess of 60 in Round 4, but batting further down the order there’s always a risk that he won’t even get a chance to get to the crease if the likes of Livingstone, Inglis or Mitch Marsh do their job at the top of the order. But do you have faith in them to do so? The last time Chris Lynn played at Sydney Showgrounds he shared in a big partnership with the now-retired Brendon McCullum, with both batsmen making quickfire half-centuries and Lynn earning Player of the Match honours. If Lynnsanity continues into Round 6, he could be a mighty fine skipper selection.

$1000 to be won every round: register for SuperCoach BBL now!

Originally published as SuperCoach BBL: Is Chris ‘Air’ Jordan the Perth Scorcher to make skipper for Round 6?