THE KFC T20 Big Bash League has hit the halfway mark, following the highest cumulative round attendance in the BBL’s history. Round 4 saw 110,385 people attend matches across the league, including a sell-out at Adelaide Oval yesterday and an Etihad Stadium record cricket attendance of 42,837 fans for the Big Melbourne Derby on Saturday night.
BBL|03 Stats so far
Most Runs: 262, Aaron Finch (Renegades)
Most Wickets: 9, Jackson Bird (Stars)
Most Sixes: 12, Aaron Finch (Renegades)
Most Total Boundaries (Sixes + Fours): 35 (23x4s + 12x6s), Aaron Finch (Renegades)
Highest Score: 86*, Michael Klinger (Strikers)
Best Bowling (Innings): 4/24, James Pattinson (Renegades) and Cameron Gannon (Heat)
Average attendance (current at 6 Jan): 20,581*
Total attendance (current at 6 Jan): 308,711*
Average national TV audience (current at 6 Jan): 941,253
*Figures do not include Hobart (Game 3) due to a no result
Perth Scorchers v Hobart Hurricanes Tues 7 Jan, WACA, 4.40pm
- Last meeting: Hurricanes 4/153 d Scorchers 8/152
- Shaun Marsh requires another 7 runs to overtake Brad Hodge and jump to second on the all-time BBL run scorers list. Marsh’s consistency over the past 3 seasons has helped him rack up 619 runs from 15 matches, while Hodge has made 626 runs from 18 matches
- The ageless Brad Hogg currently holds the tournament’s best economy rate (among bowlers who have bowled eight overs or more) at 5.50 with 5 wickets.
- The Scorchers and Hurricanes tend to accumulate their totals in 4s and smart running between the wickets. Both teams have the lowest 6s count in the tournament (Hurricanes 9x6s, Scorchers 10x6s)
- Paceman Nathan Coulter-Nile rejoins the Scorchers following his national commitments with the Australian Test team at the SCG to replace Ryan Duffield.
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Alfonso Thomas has been withdrawn from the 13-man squad for the Scorchers after
suffering a back injury during training. He will be assessed by medical staff before the squad for Friday’s match against Sydney Sixers is announced.
Thomas has been replaced in the 13-man squad by Hilton Cartwright.
- Perth Scorchers 13-Man squad v Hurricanes: Simon Katich ©, Yasir Arafat, Michael Beer, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Brad Hogg, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Hilton Cartwright, Ashton Turner, Craig Simmons, Adam Voges, Sam Whiteman.
Sydney Thunder v Brisbane Heat Wed 8 Jan, Stadium Australia, 7.40pm
- Last time these two teams met, Chris Lynn (51*) and Daniel Christian (5/26) led the Heat to a 5 wicket victory (Heat 5/127 d Thunder 126) at Stadium Australia
- Sri Lankan leg-spinner Ajantha Mendis will make his debut for the Thunder, replacing English international Eoin Morgan
- Both teams have endured a number of close losses this season. The Heat have lost by 4 runs (v Sixers) and 3 wickets with 4 balls remaining (v Hurricanes). The Thunder have lost by 6 runs (v Strikers) and by 6 wickets with 4 balls remaining (v Scorchers)
- The Thunder hold the top two highest batting partnership records for BBL|03: Usman Khawaja and David Warner (116 runs) and Mike Hussey and Eoin Morgan (109 runs)
- Craig Kieswetter has been top BBL wicket-keeper run-scorer so far with 102 runs. The Stars’ Matthew Wade is second on 85 runs.
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The KFC T20 BBL Technical Committee has approved Andrew Tye’s return to the squad after injury. He replaces Carl Sandri.
Tye picked up 13 wickets in the 2013 RYOBI One Day Cup in October and finished as the second-highest wicket-taker for the tournament.
- The Technical Committee has also approved changes to the Brisbane Heat squad, including 19-year-old Ben McDermott’s elevation as Development Rookie to be eligible for Heat selection.
McDermott, son of Australian Test bowling coach Craig and brother to Heat quick Alister, will replace Joe Burns who has been ruled out due to injury. M
cDermott’s elevation follows his selection in Australia’s initial 30-player squad for next month’s ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in the UAE. McDermott is a wicketkeeper-batsman who struck 117 and 91 in Cricket Australia’s U19M National Championships in December.
Melbourne Stars v Adelaide Strikers Thurs 9 Jan, MCG, 7.40pm
- Last time these two teams met, Brad Hodge smashed 88 runs from 58 balls. Stars 8/175 d Strikers 4/167 at Adelaide Oval
- Jackson Bird continues to be the BBL’s most destructive bowler this season. His 9 wickets is the most of any bowler so far in the tournament, and includes the 3 wickets he took in one over against the Renegades last Saturday night
- Shakib Al Hasan showed why he’s ranked as the world’s 4th best all-rounder in his debut match for the Strikers last night. Al Hasan was the Strikers’ top wicket-taker and run scorer, picking up 2/21 at an economy of 5.25 and 46 runs from 30 balls
- This match is set to be a battle between bat and ball. The Stars have struck the most tournaments 6s (37) while the Strikers are the most economical BBL club with three bowlers (Shakib Al Hasan, the injured Johan Botha and Michael Neser) boasting an economy rate under 6.00
- The Stars are the only undefeated team this season, but they have yet to win one thing – the toss
- The Strikers have yet to record a BBL win against the Stars
- Captain Cameron White will be looking to continue his sensational form after his unbeaten 84 from 49 runs, as will paceman Jackson Bird, who presently leads the competition in wickets taken with nine scalps to his name from just four games.
- The Stars are undefeated and sit on top of the BBL ladder, while the Strikers are currently in fourth position.
The Melbourne Stars 13-man squad V Strikers: Cameron White ©, Jackson Bird, James Faulkner, John Hastings, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Glenn Maxwell, Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka), Clive Rose, James Muirhead, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Luke Wright (England)
Sydney Sixers v Perth Scorchers Fri 10 Jan, SCG, 7.40pm
- The Scorchers and Sixers have a history of contests that come down to the wire. In BBL|01, the Sixers defeated the Scorchers twice, once by one run, and then to claim tournament victory in the final with 7 balls remaining. Last season, the Scorchers took the points with 4 balls to spare (Scorchers 3/114 d Sixers 9/113)
- The Sixers are back in the winning circle and have moved up to second spot on the ladder with wins against the Heat and Strikers last week
- The Sixers’ success can partly be contributed to the consistency of their bowling stocks. Every bowler (North, O’Keefe, Hazlewood, Lee, Lalor, Henriques, Bopara and Cosgrove) boasts one or more victims
- Michael Lumb’s 54 on the weekend has elevated him to the short list of batsman who have scored more than 2 half-centuries in BBL|03 (Aaron Finch 3, Mike Hussey 2, Cameron White 2)
- Scorchers mainstays Simon Katich and Brad Hogg hold the record for most BBL games played (currently 23 matches, but 24 matches should they both play against the Hurricanes on 7 January) and continue to impress. Hogg is currently the BBL’s all-time highest wicket-taker (29 wickets from 23 matches), while Katich recently notched up his highest T20 score (75, against the Thunder last Friday)
Perth Scorchers 13-man squad v Sixers: Simon Katich (c), Yasir Arafat, Michael Beer, Jason Behrendorff, Hilton Cartwright, Ryan Duffield, Brad Hogg, Mitch Marsh, Craig Simmons, Alfonso Thomas, Ashton Turner, Adam Voges, Sam Whiteman
Current Standings
| Teams | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | N/R | Pts | Net RR | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne Stars | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | +2.520 | ||
| Sydney Sixers | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | -0.654 | ||
| Adelaide Strikers | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | +0.191 | ||
| Perth Scorchers | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -0.012 | ||
| Melbourne Renegades | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -0.068 | ||
| Hobart Hurricanes | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -1.114 | ||
| Brisbane Heat | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.803 | ||
| Sydney Thunder | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0.478 |
James Buttler
As the editor of World Cricket Badger he is intent on building the website to give quality coverage of the domestic game around the world.
He is also the presenter of the Cricket Badger Radio Show on Radio Yorkshire every Tuesday evening between 7-9pm UK time.
James was the full-time Media Manager at Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 2007 and 2010.
James is a published author, a writer/video contributor to many cricket publications and a complete cricket badger!
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