If the Hobart Hurricanes can win the BBL championship like they did last year, then anyone could do it this time.
That’s how close this competition is.
On Sunday, we kick off BBL 15, and this season won’t be heavily affected by international matches taking away elite players.
That’s a significant difference.
For those unfamiliar with the BBL, the eight teams are: Perth Scorchers; Hobart Hurricanes; Sydney Sixers; Melbourne Renegades; Brisbane Heat; Adelaide Strikers; Sydney Thunder; and Melbourne Stars.
So, how do we differentiate and find the winner?
Well, markets already established on this year’s competition have the betting to win the crown looking a lot like this:
Hobart $5.00
Sydney Sixers – $5.50
Perth $6.00
Brisbane $7.00
Sydney Thunder $7.50
Adelaide $8.00
Melbourne Stars $9.00
Melbourne Renegades $10.00
That’s a rather compressed market, but it is because the teams are very evenly matched.
From a speculative point-of-view, you’d probably rate the Sydney Sixers as the team with the best and deepest battling lineup.
Hobart have the momentum.
Perth can beat anyone on their day.
And, the Sydney Thunder are rising every season.
To me, they look the top four teams.
You make your call based on their squads listed here.
Adelaide Strikers
- Matt Short (c)
- Alex Carey
- Cameron Boyce
- Jordan Buckingham
- Hasan Ali (Pak)
- Mackenzie Harvey
- Thomas Kelly
- Harry Nielsen
- Jamie Overton (Eng)
- Lloyd Pope
- Alex Ross
- Jason Sangha
- Henry Thornton
- Luke Wood (Eng)
Brisbane Heat
- Usman Khawaja (c)
- Shaheen Afridi (Pak)
- Colin Munro (NZ)
- Tom Alsop (Eng)
- Xavier Bartlett
- Max Bryant
- Lachlan Hearne
- Spencer Johnson
- Michael Neser
- Matt Renshaw
- Jimmy Peirson
- Nathan McSweeney
- Matt Kuhnemann
- Callum Vidler
- Hugh Weibgen
- Jack Wildermuth
Hobart Hurricanes
- Nathan Ellis (c)
- Tim David
- Ben McDermott
- Riley Meredith
- Mitch Owen
- Matthew Wade
- Billy Stanlake
- Chris Jordan (Eng)
- Rishad Hossain (Ban)
- Jake Weatherald
- Beau Webster
- Mac Wright
- Iain Carlisle
- Nikhil Chaudhary
Melbourne Renegades
- Nic Maddinson (c)
- Mohammad Rizwan (Pak)
- Tom Rogers
- Jake Fraser-McGurk
- Josh Brown
- Harry Dixon
- Jason Behrendorff
- Brendan Doggett
- Caleb Jewell
- Hassan Khan (Pak)
- Nathan Lyon
- Fergus O’Neill
- Ollie Peake
- Will Sutherland
- Tim Seifert (NZ)
- Adam Zampa
Melbourne Stars
- Glenn Maxwell (c)
- Marcus Stoinis
- Haris Rauf (Pak)
- Joe Clarke (Eng)
- Tom Curran (Eng)
- Sam Harper
- Hilton Cartwright
- Campbell Kellaway
- Liam Hatcher
- Peter Siddle
- Mark Steketee
- Scott Boland
- Hamish McKenzie
- Mitchell Swepson
Perth Scorchers
- Aaron Hardie (c)
- Josh Inglis
- Finn Allen (NZ)
- Cooper Connolly
- Laurie Evans (Eng)
- Sam Fanning
- Bryce Jackson
- Nick Hobson
- Matt Kelly
- Mitchell Marsh
- Lance Morris
- Joel Paris
- Ashton Agar
- Jhye Richardson
- Ashton Turner
Sydney Sixers
- Moises Henriques (c)
- Babar Azam (Pak)
- Sam Curran (Eng)
- Sean Abbott
- Steven Smith
- Jack Edwards
- Joel Davies
- Ben Dwarshuis
- Mitch Perry
- Todd Murphy
- Jordan Silk
- Josh Philippe
- Jafer Chohan (Eng)
- Lachlan Shaw
- Kane Richardson
Note: Mitchell Starc has also been signed as a supplementary player for the Sixers and may be available later in the season after international commitments.
Sydney Thunder
- Chris Green (c)
- David Warner
- Sam Billings (ENG)
- Matthew Gilkes
- Cameron Bancroft
- Ollie Davies
- Wes Agar
- Daniel Sams
- Nathan McAndrew
- Tanveer Sangha
- Lockie Ferguson
- Ryan Hadley
- Sam Konstas
- Nic Maddinson
The opening game of the 44-match season is this Sunday as mentioned and will be between Perth Scorchers and the Sydney Sixers at Optus Stadium in Perth.
Fans will be hoping Steve Smith shirts up for Sydney and that Mitch Marsh has a blinder for Perth.
The final will be played on 25 January next year.