Five bowlers every team should consider in SuperCoach BBL
A wicket is worth 20 points in SuperCoach BBL, and even dot ball add to your total. Here are the bowlers who can deliver for your fantasy team this summer.
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Bowlers have long been the dominant force in SuperCoach BBL.
While batters can blast off and score big in some games, their scoring is often volatile due to the nature of their roles.
Cop one good ball or fall to a screamer in the field and your day – and SuperCoach scoring potential – is done.
Bowlers, on the other hand, have up to 24 deliveries to score points, and one bad over doesn’t stop their chances of accumulating a good total.
How often have we seen a bowler thumped for 30 runs off their first three overs, only to return late in an innings to salvage a score with two wickets?
The bowlers you want to target are the players used in the power surge and at the death, when historically most wickets (worth 20 points) fall.
Plus there will be bargains with different roles that are simply too good to pass up.
Here are five of the best bowling options for your SuperCoach team in BBL14.
1. ADAM ZAMPA (RENEGADES) $80,100 BWL
The Aussie white-ball spinner is likely to be one of the most-popular starting picks despite averaging only 27.1 SuperCoach points last season. Zampa is the most prolific spinner in BBL history (120 wickets in 107 games) but his last three campaigns have yielded 32 wickets from 32 games – including six from eight in BBL13. Still, at such a low price and with the Renegades on a round 1 double, it’s understandable why he will be one of the first players chosen by many SuperCoaches. Zampa is all but guaranteed to bowl eight overs in round 1 and needs only 2-3 wickets to start his cash generation.
2. SPENCER JOHNSON (HEAT) $121,800 BWL
The big left-armer took a wicket every 12.3 balls he delivered in BBL13, continuing his emergence as one of Australia’s most exciting white-ball talents. His SuperCoach floor of 25 points was impressive and Johnson scored 25-74 points in seven of the eight matches he featured in. He bowls at the best times to take wickets and rack up quick points, having become the Heat’s go-to man in the power surge and death overs.
3. NATHAN ELLIS (HURRICANES) $112,500 BWL
Ellis has been one of the BBL’s most consistent quicks in the past five seasons, taking at least 11 wickets in every campaign. Last summer, his first as captain, he finished with 12 from 10 matches and a SuperCoach average of 38.1. Ellis hovered between his starting price of $154k and $120k all season, which underlines his consistent scoring. Ellis took four wickets at the T20 World Cup earlier this year, but was then sidelined by a hamstring issue.
4. FERGUS O’NEILL (RENEGADES) $107,500 BWL
Being touted in some quarters as a bolter for the next Ashes tour, the Victorian swing king showed last summer that his prowess isn’t restricted to the red ball. O’Neill took three wickets in two outings for the Renegades, during which he had the white ball talking during the power play. The 23-year-old boasts an impressive first-class record of 69 wickets in 19 games and is just scratching the surface of his potential as a T20 seamer. O’Neill could be a great round 1 SuperCoach point of difference.
5. LANCE MORRIS (SCORCHERS) $148 BWL
The man known as The Wild Thing had his best BBL campaign last summer, finishing with 13 wickets from nine games including a five-wicket haul. Most impressively, Morris recorded a wicket every 14 balls he bowled in BBL13, ranked seventh of bowlers who took at least 10 scalps for the tournament. The big question about the Scorchers is how many quicks they will carry this summer, though. Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye and Jason Behrendorff are all locks, so Morris needs Perth to go in with four pacemen to be a regular. The Scorchers have a double in round 2, so Morris has a chance to explode in SuperCoach BBL. He was in only 4.3 per cent of teams as of November 25, so he’s a POD, too. Ashton Agar’s recent injury might have a big say in Scorchers selection come round 1 and dictate Morris features alongside the other three frontline quicks.
Originally published as Five bowlers every team should consider in SuperCoach BBL
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