SuperCoach BBL: Who were the booms and busts and the find of the season?

And so that’s it! The Big Bash season is over for another year, and so too is the SuperCoach BBL season – who were the booms, busts, and new players who emerged to make a claim for international honours?

The Sixers pose with the trophy after winning the Big Bash League Final match between the Sydney Sixers and the Melbourne Stars

And so that’s it! The Big Bash season is over for another year, and so too is the SuperCoach BBL season – congratulations go out to our SuperCoach BBL winner TheKDawg and thanks to the 70,000+ coaches who played this season.

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The BBL|09 season ended with the Sixers – complete with Australian and international representative players like Steve Smith, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon returning at the close of the season to join former international players like Sean Abbott, Moises Henriques, and English import James Vince – winning their first trophy since the inaugural tournament, defeating the Melbourne Stars who, once again, failed to deliver when the pressure came to bear, losing their second final in consecutive seasons.

Of course, at least they got there again – last season’s champions, their cross-town rival Melbourne Renegades, plummeted to the bottom of the ladder in a disastrous season where they completely capitulated.

In BBL|09 there were booms, busts, and new players who emerged to make a claim for international honours.

Daniel Sams of the Thunder celebrates another wicket

BOOMS OF THE SEASON

It’s hard to go past Sydney Thunder’s Daniel Sams, the ostensible all-rounder who topped the bowling ranks for the tournament, claiming 30 wickets. He never got going with the willow in hand in BBL|09, but his incredible ability to execute at the crease also saw him top the SuperCoach BBL points table, finishing with 1164 points at an average of 68.5.

Conversely, Marcus Stoinis from the Stars was at the opposite end of the ledger – he barely bowled all tournament, but boy could he bat! His 147 not out is one of the great domestic T20 innings and he was a player that you could rely upon to have in your squad, averaging 64.9 ppg. Hobart Hurricane D’Arcy Short’s form was so good he earned a trip to India in January as part of the Australian ODI squad, as he belted all comers on the way to averaging 85.7.

Glenn Maxwell’s ability to impact with bat and ball throughout the tournament was a key component of the Stars’ season, and while he couldn’t lead his team to victory in the final match, he no doubt lead from the front for the Stars, finishing with an average of 64.6 to secure a spot as part of the Australian tour of South Africa.

Sean Abbott missed half the season with an injury, but in his seven games for the Sixers he was a vital part of SuperCoach BBL squads, averaging 85.3. What the Renegades wouldn’t have given to have Afghani skipper Mohammad Nabi available for the entire season, with his appearances in the back half of the season coinciding with the Renegades breaking their winless duck, as he averaged 74.3 from six appearances.

While he might have missed out on being part of their victory, English international Tom Curran was integral to the Sixers’ season being successful – they were fortunate they were able to replace his batting and bowling ability with the likes of Smith and Hazlewood at the pointy end of the season.

Other international imports to step up and play vital roles for their sides were Afghanistan Rashid Khan from the Adelaide Strikers, who showed he’s not just a threat with the ball but also capable of being incredibly damaging with the bat, and English imports Tom Banton (who was here in the first part of the season with the Brisbane Heat), Alex Hales at the Thunder and Liam Livingstone at Perth Scorchers. The latter two took some time to heat up, but once they got going they really started to strike it sweet.

BUSTS OF THE SEASON

Melbourne Renegades started the season with two English imports in Harry Gurney and Richard Gleeson, and finished the season with both no longer part of their squad – the former suffered a hamstring injury before returning to England for his brother’s wedding, and didn’t feature in the tournament again, while the latter failed to impress until he was replaced by Nabi.

Dan Christian’s season with the Renegades took a tumble

They weren’t the only Renegades who struggled, with perhaps the biggest surprise being the fall from grace of Dan Christian. One of the heroes of the ‘Gades first ever BBL championship, his form in the BBL|09 season deserted him, and he finished up averaging just 32.6 ppg. Marcus Harris was shunted in and out of the side and around the order after previously being a regular, while Will Sutherland played in ten games but didn’t really do much in any of them.

Shaun Marsh was one of their big acquisitions, coming over from the Scorchers on a hefty contract, but didn’t really impress all that much before he, inevitably, broke down with injury, averaging 54.3 ppg. At least he did more than his fellow former Australian international Usman Khawaja, whose first full season with the Thunder was an absolute shocker, finishing with an average of just 32.4 and shedding nearly $100,000 from his starting price. His summer was a shocker.

Nic Maddinson of the Stars drops Jordan Silk – it summed up his season

In his second season with the Stars, Nic Maddinson’s hair and earring combo was more impressive than his batting – it was really only one surprising bowling performance that saw his average finish at 27.3 ppg. For such a high profile player his form and hitting ability left a lot to be desired.

FIND OF THE SEASON

There’s only one player who is worth mentioning here – the Melbourne Stars plucked Pakistani pace ace Haris Rauf out of grade cricket in Tasmania as an injury replacement for South African legend Dale Steyn and unleashed him on the BBL competition where he promptly took a five-fer in his second match for his new side.

Finishing with an average of 74.4 ppg from 10 games players, as well as an incredible hat-trick on the same day that Rashid Khan took one, he would have suited up more if it wasn’t for the fact that he was called up to international honours, debuting for his country on the back of his incredible form for the Stars. They’re no doubt hard at work to secure him on a long-term contract.

WHAT’S NEXT IN BBL|10?

As always, so much of the Big Bash competition is dependent upon availability of quality international players. For the Australians, the likelihood is that the stars who were available at the conclusion of the BBL|09 season will be busy with international commitments.

In the wake of the Men’s World Cup T20 in Australia this October, it is a packed schedule for most sides – nearly every side who are part of the ICC Future Tours Programme has commitments throughout January and February, from the top tier sides like Australia, India and England right down to emerging nations like Afghanistan and Bangladesh being busy with Test, ODI and T20I commitments.

Will the likes of Sandeep Lamichhane of the Stars be available in BBL|10 in a packed international schedule?

It will be interesting to see how much turnover sides have ahead of the next season, with so many uncertainties around availability of key squad members.

Now thoughts turn to the winter codes, with both SuperCoach AFL and SuperCoach NRL registrations open for both the Classic and the Draft competitions; register now to start playing!

Originally published as SuperCoach BBL: Who were the booms and busts and the find of the season?