SuperCoach Plus: The 30 most popular players in KFC SuperCoach BBL
Need a fast guide to who is appearing in the most KFC SuperCoach BBL teams? See the 30 most selected players plus the expert verdict on every pick.
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In KFC SuperCoach sometimes it pays to follow the pack.
If almost everyone in the competition is picking a player, there is probably a good reason for it and you might want them in your team too.
Selecting a couple of unique options can be a good way to get ahead but to do that you need to know the selection numbers for every player in the game.
That’s where SuperCoach Plus comes in. A treasure trove of tools and stats to help you build a bulletproof KFC SuperCoach BBL team, SuperCoach Plus includes score and price projections, Break Evens and lots more – including selection percentages for every player.
And brand new this year once the season kicks off you can break down those percentages to find out how many of the top 10 per cent or 1 per cent of the competition owns a certain player.
And remember a SuperCoach Plus subscription is for 12 months and covers all the great SuperCoach games – KFC SuperCoach BBL, KFC SuperCoach AFL and KFC SuperCoach NRL.
So, who are the most popular players with a week to go until the first ball is bowled in BBL12? Scroll down to find out plus our expert verdict on each player.
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1. Marcus Stoinis (Stars) $83,400 BAT-BWL – 67.7 per cent ownership
Verdict: Actually surprised he’s currently in fewer than 70 per cent of teams. Stoinis is clearly the best bargain buy in KFC SuperCoach and will have to take on a major role without Glenn Maxwell. He should be in every side.
2. Rashid Khan (Strikers) $193,600 BWL – 60 per cent
Verdict: Rashid is comfortably the No.1 captaincy pick for round 1, when the Strikers play twice. He averaged 66.7 points a round last summer, so KFC SuperCoaches can safely expect a score of at least 100 in the opening round of BBL12. He’s the safest of the premiums in the 170k-200k bracket.
3. Daniel Sams (Thunder) $179,300 BAT-BWL – 54.5 per cent
Verdict: The Thunder all-rounder is one of the most reliable KFC SuperCoach scorers and starts with four games in two rounds. The slight concern is he hasn’t played since November 17 due to an undisclosed injury. The Thunder has so much bowling depth you might need to pivot away from Sams if there are any doubts over his fitness or being managed early in BBL12.
4. Josh Philippe (Sixers) $168,300 WKP-BAT – 48.1 per cent
Verdict: Philippe is without doubt one of the premier wicketkeepers in KFC SuperCoach. But almost 50 per cent of teams? Really. Joe Clarke is cheaper and has a round 1 double-game round. The theory is you can field Philippe all the way through to his round 5 double, but all that’s doing is taking a player with a double off the field. He can score well in rounds where he only plays once but the safer bet would be to start Clarke/Matt Gilkes, use Josh Inglis in round 2 and Sam Billings in round 3. Then you can bring Philippe in round 4. There were seven rounds last season he scored 50 points or less.
5. Alex Hales (Thunder) $130,300 BAT – 46.5 per cent
Verdict: Hasn’t been in great form at the Abu Dhabi T20 competition but his World Cup form in Australia provides a better guide of what to expect in BBL12. Hales ranked eighth for runs at the T20 World Cup, amassing 212 runs at an average of 42. The Englishman has been one of the BBL’s most dominant batters in recent summers and starts with four games in two rounds. A must-have.
6. Adam Zampa (Stars) $103,600 BWL – 42.7 per cent
Verdict: The seventh-ranked T20 bowler in the world is the 55th most expensive player in KFC SuperCoach. Now that’s some serious value. Zampa has a formidable record in the BBL. You can effectively write off last season when nothing went right for the Stars. Before then, he averaged 54 in BBL10 and 64 in BBL09. Those are elite numbers for a BWL only.
7. D’Arcy Short (Hurricanes) $148,200 BAT-BWL – 36.1 per cent
Verdict: No doubting Short’s matchwinning ability but his ownership seems high for a player who doesn’t have a double until round 8 and you would like need to trade in round 5 when Hobart has a bye. He would need to perform out of his skin for the first four rounds to justify paying almost $150k, especially when so many options with early doubles are available for a similar price. You’ll want him at some stage, but not from the start.
8. Will Sutherland (Renegades) $62,500 BAT-BWL – 33.7 per cent
Verdict: The Victorian all-rounder is enjoying a coming-of-age summer in the Sheffield Shield. Sutherland has been one of the most popular starting rookies for several years in KFC SuperCoach but hasn’t delivered on the hype – largely due to role. Batting in the lower-order and not being guaranteed four overs can spell KFC SuperCoach disaster. Hopefully this is the summer Sutherland goes to another level for the Renegades. The early signs are encouraging.
9. Matt Short (Strikers) $197,500 BAT-BWL – 30.7 per cent
Verdict: KFC SuperCoaches need to decide whether to pay more than $135k than last season to start with Short. His KFC SuperCoach average went from 17.8 to 68.1 after being entrusted opening duties and a regular bowling role at the Strikers. Adelaide will have a different line-up this year with the inclusion of Colin de Grandhomme significant for their bowling attack. If Short maintains the same role as BBL11, the high price tag will be worth it.
10. Ben McDermott (Hurricanes) $211,800 WKP-BAT – 30.1 per cent
Verdict: The unwritten rule – or maybe it has been written – is not to pay top dollar for players who don’t have a KFC SuperCoach BBL double. McDermott is the most expensive player in KFC SuperCoach after Mitch Marsh’s season-ending injury, but doesn’t play twice until round 8. As brilliant as he was last summer, logic suggests KFC SuperCoaches would be better served holding off until closer to round 8 and hoping McDermott’s price is closer to $150k by then.
11. Tim David (Hurricanes) $89,700 BAT – 29.2 per cent
Verdict: Forget the earlier advice about avoiding Hurricanes until closer to round 8. Cash cows are a different story. David’s emergence as one of the biggest hitters in world cricket has been something to behold. Yet he’s still available for under $90k after averaging 36 and 30 in the past two summers. You can afford to sit David on your bench, hope he goes ballistic early in BBL12 and contributes to building your team value. At that price he only needs 1-2 big scores to start the money train.
12. Harry Nielsen (Strikers) $62,500 WKP-BAT – 29.2 per cent
Verdict: We’re going to assume this is part of a three-wicketkeeper strategy to field both Matthew Gilkes and Josh Inglis for their round 2 doubles. Nielsen reached his round 1 Break Even of 43 only twice last summer, so cash generation would require some luck. At least he has job security until mid-January when Alex Carey returns from the Test team. He bats too low for the Strikers to loom as a likely cash cow. But for team structure, having a WKP on your BAT bench makes sense.
13. Josh Inglis (Scorchers) $87,000 WKP-BAT – 27.4 per cent
Verdict: Starting Inglis with an eye to Perth Scorchers’ round 2 double is a smart play. You could field Joe Clarke in round 1, put Inglis on field in round 2 and trade Clarke to Sam Billings to prepare for Brisbane’s round 3 double. Or, if you start a third wicketkeeper, you could trade Clarke to any Scorcher. From BBL08 to BBL10, Inglis averaged 43-56 points. Expect him to return to a figure in that range after a quiet BBL11 and justify his billing as one of the best cheapies of the summer.
14. Chris Lynn (Strikers) $112,200 BAT – 25.9 per cent
Verdict: A long-time staple of KFC SuperCoach teams, Lynn starts BBL12 at his cheapest starting price ever. The BBL’s all-time leading runscorer averaged only 25 KFC SuperCoach points in BBL11, but that hasn’t deterred coaches banking on a Lynn resurgence in Adelaide. His form in England’s Vitality Blast and the Abu Dhabi T10 League has been promising and there’s not a lot of risk involved at only $112k.
15. Matthew Wade (Hurricanes) $120,400 BAT-WKP – 25.2 per cent
Verdict: The Aussie T20 keeper is a great value selection in KFC SuperCoach. He has posted five KFC SuperCoach tons in 20 rounds during the past three seasons, including back-to-back double hundreds during BBL09. Wade has such a high points ceiling, you can justify picking him even though he doesn’t have a double until round 8. If you’re starting with Matt Gilkes and Josh Inglis, Wade is the perfect third wicketkeeper to ensure you can field both Gilkes and Inglis when their respective teams play twice in round 2.
16. Trent Boult (Stars) $180,000 BWL – 24.5 per cent
Verdict: The New Zealand quick showcased his class with hauls of 4-13, 2-24 and 2-33 during the T20 World Cup. Boult makes a lot of sense as a starting selection as his higher price tag means you can easily pivot to a Scorcher such as Faf Du Plessis, Jhye Richardson or Andrew Tye in round 2 when they have the double and the Stars have a bye. Boult’s other T20 World Cup matches highlight the main risk with picking a BWL only player – 0-38 against Ireland (8 KFC SuperCoach points) and 0-40 against England (17 KFC SuperCoach points including 10 for a catch). Regardless of the risk, he shapes as one of the safest big-money premiums for round 1 and his ownership is justifiably high.
17. Colin de Grandhomme (Strikers) $125,000 BAT-BWL – 22.4 per cent
Verdict: Another experienced New Zealand international, De Grandhomme has several question marks hanging over him heading into his first BBL game. Will he bowl four overs or be the Sixers’ sixth bowling option? Assuming Rashid, Siddle, Thornton and Wes Agar start, the fifth bowling spot could be shared between De Grandhomme and Matt Short, depending on pitch and match conditions. Then there’s his batting role. Will he be a Tim David type deployed for quick runs late or a set-and-forget No.6? KFC SuperCoaches don’t have the luxury of watching his role for a round before picking him as Adelaide has the round 1 double. At $125k, the risk is mitigated by the price anyway.
18. Matthew Gilkes (Thunder) $97,400 WKP-BAT – 21.1 per cent
Verdict: The cheap wicketkeeper on the round 1 double and expected to partner Alex Hales at the top of the order for Sydney Thunder. The 23-year-old has only three scores of note in 12 innings this summer, so his form is a slight concern. But that is offset by a price tag of less than $100k and the Thunder playing four matches in the opening two rounds. Joe Clarke might be a safer pick but good luck finding that extra $60k needed.
19. Cooper Connolly (Scorchers) $42,000 BAT-BWL – 19.3 per cent
Verdict: The young WA all-rounder again shapes as the best of the captaincy loophole options which is why he features in the top-20 most owned players. It’s unlikely he will feature often for the Scorchers, although the loss of Laurie Evans and injuries to Mitch Marsh and Phil Salt could open the door for the Aussie under-19 representative. Most KFC SuperCoaches will use him as a loophole anyway to try and boost their scores from the BAT/BWL bench or double their vice-captain score. It’s a smart strategy but one that does mean giving up a position in your 16-man squad which could be generating cash.
20. Jimmy Pierson (Heat) $73,600 WKP-BAT – 18.8 per cent
Verdict: Maybe the KFC SuperCoaches with Peirson in their teams have short memories? Peirson finished BBL11 strongly with a KFC SuperCoach score of 143 in the final round, boosting his overall average to 25.4 for the season. But until then he had averaged 15.1 and dropped to a rookie price of $48k. He’s a gun behind the stumps but bats too low for the Heat to be a factor in KFC SuperCoach. Most of his scores in the past three years are between 10-30. Pick Sam Billings for the Heat’s round 3 double instead.
21. Joe Clarke (Stars) $153,800 WKP-BAT – 18.2 per cent
Verdict: The premium wicketkeeping option with the round 1 double. The Englishman had a poor start to his first campaign with the Stars, producing scores of 1, 33 and 20 points. His form from then on was spectacular, though. Clarke recorded scores of 72, 120, 87, 123, 52, 121 and 60 for the rest of BBL11. He costs more than $50k more than Gilkes but has a record to justify the extra spend.
22. Ben Cutting (Thunder) $86,000 BAT-BWL – 18.1 per cent
Verdict: Looked like Cutting might be on the outer after David Willey was drafted by the Thunder. But his withdrawal has put the experienced all-rounder right back in the frame to partner Daniel Sams in the middle-order. He’s been playing predominantly as a batter in recent T20 and T10 series. There are more than 5000 coaches hoping Cutting can turn back the clock in round 1 and 2 of KFC SuperCoach.
23. Sean Abbott (Sixers) $205,400 BWL – 16.9 per cent
Verdict: If there’s an exception to the ‘only pay top dollar for premiums with a double’ rule, then Abbott is it. The Aussie white-ball seamer is such a consistent KFC SuperCoach pointscorer, which is why he starts BBL12 at more than $200,000. He scored less than 50 points only twice in nine rounds last summer and that sort of points floor/reliability is worth paying up for. If you don’t start Abbott, make sure you have a plan to bring him into your team by round 5 when the Sixers play twice.
24. Glenn Maxwell (Stars) $184,600 BAT-BWL – 16.6 per cent
Verdict: These 4600 coaches must not have logged on since news broke of Maxwell’s season-ending leg injury. No one wants to pay $184k for a loophole.
25. Cameron Green (Scorchers) $62,500 BAT-BWL – 16.6 per cent
Verdict: The Aussie all-rounder won’t feature in the BBL until mid-January, but could feasibly be the perfect loophole for the first half of BBL12. By starting with Green, you will save yourself a trade mid-season when other KFC SuperCoaches are scrambling to bring him in. The only risk would be that his load is managed and he doesn’t bowl or is rested from BBL games after back-to-back Test series. But that seems unlikely with Cricket Australia wanting its best players back in the BBL.
26. Rilee Rossouw (Thunder) $105,000 BAT – 16.4 per cent
Verdict: The South African is shaping as one of the more polarising picks of round 1. At his best, he blazed T20 tons against India in a World Cup lead-up match and 109 against Bangladesh during the World Cup. But Rossouw scored 0, 7 and 25 after that century against Bangladesh and six of his last 11 international T20 scores are less than 10. Whether Russouw goes big or not in round 1 could kickstart or derail the start of thousands of KFC SuperCoaches.
27. Dan Christian (Sixers) $142,200 BAT-BWL – 14.8 per cent
Verdict: The evergreen all-rounder of Australian T20 cricket can never be dismissed as a KFC SuperCoach threat. Christian has been one of the greatest beneficiaries of the KFC SuperCoach strike rate bonus, often arriving at the crease late in an innings and reaching the 20-run threshold in quick time. His role with the ball has been diminishing but he remains a crucial part of the Sixers side.
28. Oliver Davies (Thunder) $62,500 BAT – 13.5 per cent
Verdict: The Thunder rising star has sky-high potential but hasn’t quite been able to nail down a spot in the batting line-up yet. He blazed his way onto the scene with scores of 71 and 83 but only one of his next 12 scores have been 20 or higher (51 in Round 7 last year). Bats too low to be a consistent KFC SuperCoach scorer.
29. Ruwantha Kellapotha (Renegades) $42,000 BWL – 13.2 per cent
Verdict: Kellapotha has gone from playing local cricket in Melbourne’s southeast to Premier Cricket and a Victorian debut in the space of a few years. It’s been quite a journey for the former Sri Lankan first-class spinner and should culminate with a BBL debut this summer. That’s unlikely to happen until later in the tournament though as he’ll start BBL12 behind world-class talents Akael Hosein and Mujeeb ur Rahman. Once they leave to play in overseas T20 leagues, expect Kellapotha to get his opportunity.
30. Shadab Khan (Hurricanes) $125,000 BAT-BWL – 13.2 per cent
Verdict: If you’re going to stray from picking players with the double, it needs to be a for world-class talents such as Shadab. By starting with the Pakistani all-rounder, you’re effectively committing to having him in your team until Hobart’s round 8 double. Shadab is a player who can accumulate points with bat, ball and in the field and shapes as one of the most underpriced KFC SuperCoach picks if he performs anywhere close to what he produced during the T20 World Cup.
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