How important are double game weeks to SuperCoach BBL success?
Any SuperCoach will tell you targeting teams who play twice each round is the key to success. But do double game weeks actually translate to huge points?
SuperCoach BBL
Don't miss out on the headlines from SuperCoach BBL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A double game week is as close as coaches can come to guaranteed success in SuperCoach BBL.
Four of the opening five rounds of SuperCoach BBL featured more than one team playing twice and three (Heat, Sixers, Thunder) in Round 1 and Round 3 (Scorchers, Strikers, Sixers).
Thousands of teams cashed in when stars such as Rashid Khan, Josh Philippe and Tom Curran went big, rewarded for loading up on those playing twice.
But the tested method will not be as simple from here.
As Round 4 showed, it’s easy to be sucked in by the lure of a double game week, especially when only one team features twice.
Six of the top-10 scorers during Adelaide Strikers’ double were from opposition sides, with Khan (244), Phil Salt (121), Wes Agar (101) and Alex Carey (90) their team’s leading performers.
In contrast, Matt Short (40) and Billy Stanlake (57) both scored below expectation despite featuring in both of Adelaide’s matches.
The next three double game weeks only include one side, with Melbourne Stars (Round 7), Perth Scorchers (Round 9) and Sydney Sixers (Round 10) doubling up.
How you handle these rounds could be the difference between falling short or being in contention for the $25,000 grand prize.
The Stars and Sixers boast prominent scorers such as Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Philippe and Curran, however Chris Jordan (71.4) and Fawad Ahmed (62.8) were the only scorers averaging 52 or better after Round 4.
Why couldn’t an all-rounder such as Chris Morris or Daniel Sams or a big hitter such as Chris Lynn eclipse a double game week Scorcher in Round 9?
MORE SUPERCOACH BBL:
Marnus Labuschagne will be the SuperCoach BBL buy of the season after returning from India
SuperCoach BBL: All the late mail, squad news and whispers
SuperCoach BBL Round 7 trade guide: Melbourne Stars cheapies rated
SuperCoach BBL: How Shane Warne plans to juggle absence of one-day international stars
SuperCoach BBL: Three ways to save your season
A single focus on DGW players means overlooking top scorers such as Sams (67.8 average), Morris (68) and Callum Ferguson (76.4) for the remainder of the season after the Thunder played their only double in Round 1.
Your planning should become simpler for the final rounds of the regular season with Hobart and Adelaide sharing a Round 12 double and Brisbane and Melbourne Renegades playing twice in Round 13.
By those latter rounds SuperCoach teams will take on a similar look with players such as Lynn, AB De Villiers and Kane Richardson in high demand.
It’s why what you do between rounds 7 and 11 will be so important ultimately what sets you apart from the pack.
HOW THE EARLY DOUBLE GAME WEEKS HAVE PLAYED OUT
Round 1 (Sixers, Thunder, Heat double)
*8 of the top 10 had a double game week
*17 of the top 20 DGW
*18 scores 100+
*Non-double in bold
Ben Dwarshuis 211
Josh Philippe 189
Qais Ahmad 180
Tom Curran 175
Sean Abbott 174
Ben Manenti 158
Arjun Nair 155
Chris Green 148
Glenn Maxwell 146
Tom Banton 136
Round 2 (no DGW)
*8 100+ scores
Lynn 189
Rauf 156
K.Richardson 145
Renshaw 137
Meredith 107
Webster 107
M.Marsh 106
Abbott 103
Jordan 94
Sams 93
Round 3 (Scorchers, Sixers, Strikers double)
*Top 10 all DGW
Curran 256
Carey 182
Abbott 180
Weatherald 176
Pope 169
Khan 151
Livingstone 143
Richardson 137
Wells 136
Inglis 130
*4 players non DGW top 20 (Meredith 122, Ellis 113, Faulkner 94, Short 86).
Round 4 (Strikers double)
*6 top-10 scores non DGW
*13 top-20 non DGW
R.Khan 244
K.Richardson 134
Ferguson 131
Ahmed 123
Salt 121
A.Agar 115
Z.Khan 112
W.Agar 101
Boyce 97
Carey 90
Round 5 (Stars, Renegades double)
*3 of top 10 non DGW
*9 of top-20 non DGW
Stoinis 163
Lynn 148
Sams 144
Zampa 136
Maxwell 127
Steyn 122
Marsh 110
Rauf 108
Bryant 108
Lamichhane 102