SuperCoach BBL: Should you pick Marsh or should you pick Stoinis as skipper this round?

Scoring was down across the board in Round 8 of SuperCoach BBL; not that you’d know it if you had the likes of Mitch Marsh or Marcus Stoinis in your squad. But who is the better pick as captain in Round 9?

Marcus Stoinis of the Stars had a night to remember against the Sixers, smashing a record 147 not out

Scoring was down across the board in Round 8 of SuperCoach BBL; not that you’d know it if you had the likes of Mitch Marsh or Marcus Stoinis in your squad. In total there were only five players who scored over 100 points last round – when compared to the last ‘clean’ round back in Round 2, when there were no teams on the bye and also none on the double, this was down by nearly half.

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Three of the players to break the barrier were from the top of the table Melbourne Stars, with Stoinis joined by fellow opener Hilton Cartwright as well as spinning sensation Clint Hinchcliffe in achieving the mark.

Elsewhere, it was just wily old veteran Peter Siddle and the aforementioned younger Marsh brother who hit the heights – now it very much becomes a case of whether or not the latter is affordable, with the Perth Scorchers the side on the double in Round 9, while Sydney Sixers will have their last bye for the season.

BOOM OF THE ROUND: MARCUS STOINIS | MELBOURNE STARS | BAT / BWL | 244 points

An absolutely extraordinary performance, the round was most certainly highlighted by the exploits of Stoinis at the top of the Stars’ order. Smashing 147 not out from just 79 balls, his innings was truly something else – a bravura display of power hitting that cemented his side at the top of the Big Bash league table. That Stoinis was able to come close to hitting 250 points without rolling his arm over – he’s yet to bowl in BBL|09 – makes the fact that he’s only shed just on $50,000 from his starting price all the more extraordinary.

BUST OF THE ROUND: JOSH PHILIPPE | SYDNEY SIXERS | WKP / BAT | 9 points

If the Sixers were to come close to the score that the Stars set them of 220 to win in their top-of-the-table clash, then they needed their explosive wicketkeeper to kick things off at the top of the order. Owned by just on 47% of all players in SuperCoach BBL – some ten per cent more than Stoinis – he instead was gone early, continuing a downward trend in his performance metrics that should have many owners selling him this round with the Sixers having the bye.

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Peter Siddle of the Strikers doesn’t need to turn back the clock, he just needs to keep eating his bananas

UNIQUE OF THE ROUND: PETER SIDDLE | ADELAIDE STRIKERS | BWL | 128 points | 5.5% ownership

A value pick at on $130,000 prior to the start of Round 8, Siddle rewarded the few who selected him – his ownership only increased by less than three hundred in the quick turnaround from Round 7 to Round 8. With his price climbing by $15,000 and Siddle due to have the double in Round 12, there’s every chance that his ownership could more than double from this point on as he still remains affordable and a fairly safe bet to perform strongly from round-to-round.

PLAYERS TO TARGET NEXT ROUND

With the Scorchers on the double this round, it makes sense to target their players, particularly as so many of their players have reasonably like-for-like replacements in the Sixers’ ranks. So if you’re looking to move on the likes of Josh Philippe, Tom Curran, and Ben Dwarshuis, who should you be looking toward?

JOSH INGLIS | WKP / BAT | 48.4 avg. | $139,800

Bringing in the Scorchers’ opening batsman and gloveman in favour of Philippe will save you just on $25,00 of salary cap straight away. Inglis only averages just on 9 points per match less than Philippe over the course of BBL|09, but over the last three and five matches he’s averaging over 10 points per outing more than his Sixers’ equivalent. He’s the one you want.

MITCH MARSH | BAT / BWL | 70.3 avg. | $203,800

Already owned by just on 18% of all players, Marsh’s ownership was reasonably expected to boom after his 175 point outing in Round 8. It should definitely be helped that swapping Curran out for him sees significant savings for a stronger likelihood of expected outcome, with the younger Marsh over $30,000 cheaper and averaging 127.3 points per match over the last three. He is in simply scintillating form, and looms as the #1 player to target in Round 9.

JHYE RICHARDSON | BWL | 56.0 avg. | $189,500

If you make the above two moves, it should see some significant savings in your salary cap, allowing Richardson to be the quick to target. Another option might be to choose the English import Chris Jordan, who is only averaging 0.7 less points per match than Richardson across the course of the season and is some $45,000 or so cheaper than the native Western Australian.

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Dan Christian hasn’t got going for the Renegades with either bat or ball in BBL|09 thus far

PLAYERS TO AVOID NEXT ROUND

The obvious answer here is the Sixers, with the Sydney side on the bye. But there’s also a heap of players whose form line leaves a lot to be desired, including for the likes of the Scorchers, with the side on the double having the likes of having Cameron Green only averaging 14.6 this season despite coming in with a lot of hype. As a DPP, the somewhat maligned Tim David has him well and truly covered by comparison.

DAVID MILLER | HOBART HURRICANES | BAT | 18.0 avg. | $73,800

Touted as one of the cleanest hitters in the short-form of cricket, South African Miller has yet to deliver anything of note for the Hurricanes. His highest scoring round remains under 50 points in Round 3, and he’s scored a meagre 91 runs in 79 balls, with just four 6s and two 4s to his name. It’s been a poor return from a player who more was expected from.

MARCUS HARRIS | MELBOURNE RENEGADES | BAT | 21.8 avg. | $65,300

Up and down the order like a yoyo, Harris also missed the first few matches of the Renegades’ season when others were preferred to him at the top of the order. Returning as a middle order batsman, Harris has resumed his normal spot as an opener while Aaron Finch is otherwise occupied with captaining his country in the ODI series in India. It’s made no difference to his form line, which has been decidedly unimpressive. The only thing going in his favour is that he is super cheap and he will, at some point, presumably have a purple patch at some point.

DAN CHRISTIAN | MELBOURNE RENEGADES | BAT / BWL | 24.9 avg. | $89,000

Speaking of players who were expected to perform more strongly in BBL|09, Christian has been unable to recapture the heroics that he performed to help the Renegades claim their maiden Big Bash League title last season. Unable to take a wicket thus far this season, he’s only bowled 82 balls in total – less than 14 of a possible 36 possible overs in nine matches – and his price has plummeted nearly $110,000 as a result of not just his lack of wickets but also his poor form with the bat, making just 95 runs from 70 balls and a high score of 32.

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Mitch Marsh of the Scorchers seems a likely choice for captain in Round 9

CAPTAIN’S CHOICE

Once again, do we have too much faith in players on double rounds? The last time the Scorchers had a double, in Round 6, it was Jhye Richardson and Mitch Marsh who lead proceedings for the Scorchers, with 190 and 169 points respectively across two matches. By comparison, D’Arcy Short (now in India), Josh Philippe, and Sam Harper also posted big scores (173, 127, and 113) without having the benefit of playing twice in the round. If you were looking for players in red-hot form, it would be hard to look past Marcus Stoinis if you’re not pumping for Mitch Marsh, but keep an eye on Travis Head for the Strikers – in his first match for the season, he scored 94 points, of which over half came through claiming wickets. If he hits form with the bat, he could easily do some serious damage.

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Originally published as SuperCoach BBL: Should you pick Marsh or should you pick Stoinis as skipper this round?