Our (unofficial) BBL|10 Team of the Tournament

BASRA = batting average + strike rate

1) Alex Hales (Sydney Thunder) (OS)

M: 14 | Runs: 535 | Ave: 41.15 | SR: 163.60 | Basra: 204.75 | 50s: 3 | 100s: 1 | HS: 110

It’s almost two years since Alex Hales last played for England and the opener is doing absolutely everything he can to force his way back into his national side. The second-highest run-scorer last summer, Hales is 81 runs clear at the top at the end of the regular season and has achieved that at a strike-rate of 163.60, the best among the top 25 run-scorers. He’s also pocketed the record for the most sixes in a single season (with possibly three games still to come) and he was one of the first players picked in our team of the tournament.

2) Josh Philippe (Sydney Sixers) (wk)

M: 14 | Runs: 454 | Ave: 32.42 | SR: 149.34 | Basra: 181.76 | 50s: 3 | 100s: 0 | HS: 95 | Ct: 14 | St: 1

After a breakout tournament last summer that lifted him to the cusp of an international debut, Philippe has taken his game to a whole new level this season with a consistency that has brought a maiden Australia cap ever closer. With finals still to come, he’s almost matched his runs tally from BBL|09 already from two less games, while his strike-rate has increased to almost 150, some 20 runs higher than last summer. His only minor regret from another excellent season may be the absence of a century, with scores of 95 and 84 showing how close he came to reaching three figures.

3) Chris Lynn (Brisbane Heat)

M: 10 | Runs: 420 | Ave: 42.00 | SR: 157.30 | Basra: 199.30 | 50s: 5 | 100s: 0 | HS: 69

Going under the radar is not really Chris Lynn’s style, but the Brisbane Heat skipper has quietly put together one of the better batting performances of the season to help his side end their long finals drought. Despite missing four matches due to injury, Lynn has scored more runs than any other player apart from Hales and Philippe and he’s done so at a strike-rate of 157.30, a number bettered only by Hales among the competition’s top 25 run scorers. Most importantly, Lynn stood up when it mattered most, hitting two crucial half-centuries in must-win games to finish the season.

4) Colin Munro (Perth Scorchers) (OS)

M: 13 | Runs: 411 | Ave: 34.25 | SR: 129.65 | Basra: 163.90 | 50s: 4 | 100s: 0 | HS: 82

There were plenty of contenders to fill this role, but Colin Munro’s consistency and versatility has seen him win a spot just ahead of the likes of Alex Carey and Ben McDermott. The Kiwi scored at least 25 in eight of his 13 innings in this tournament, making him a highly reliable source of runs in a format where consistency can be hard to come by. Perth’s winning run in the second half of the tournament coincided with Munro’s purple patch with the bat and his fortunes will play a major role in determining how they go in the finals.

5) Jordan Silk (Sydney Sixers)

M: 14 | Runs: 354 | Ave: 36.50 | SR: 144.26 | Basra: 180.76 | 50s: 1 | 100s: 0 | HS: 78

One of the big improvers of BBL|10, Jordan Silk has been a cool head for the Sixers throughout the season and given their innings a flourish on plenty of occasions. The right-hander has always been a solid contributor, but he’s made huge gains this season with his scoring rate, returning a strike-rate of 144.26 compared to just 106.21 last summer. That places him fourth among the competition’s top 20 run-scorers, ahead of the likes of Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and McDermott, which would have been almost unthinkable coming into the tournament.

6) Dan Christian (Sydney Sixers)

M: 14 | Runs: 252 | Ave: 36.00 | SR: 186.66 | Basra: 222.66 | 50s: 2 | HS: 61no | Wkts: 13 | Ave: 28.00 | Econ: 9.10 | BB: 3-36

There’s absolutely nothing left for Dan Christian to prove in T20 cricket, but the veteran appears as motivated as ever to add a third BBL title to his ever-growing trophy cabinet. Having slammed the second-fastest BBL fifty early in the tournament – a 15-ball innings against the Strikers – he used all his experience to single-handedly steal victory from the Heat with an unbeaten 61 from just 38 balls, including a boundary from the final ball to win the game. With the ball, his economy rate is on the high side as he was mostly used to bowl the difficult overs at the death or in the Power Surge, but there’s no doubt he can bowl effectively at any time in the innings.

7) Daniel Sams (Sydney Thunder)

M: 9 | Runs: 199 | Ave: 49.75 | SR: 191.36 | Basra: 241.11 | 50s: 2 | HS: 65no | Wkts: 10 | Ave: 22.90 | Econ: 8.58 | BB: 2-24

The fact Daniel Sams has made this team primarily for his batting represents one of the biggest turnarounds of the past 12 months. Having struggled with the bat last summer, it all clicked in BBL|10 as the powerful right-hander finished the tournament with an extraordinary strike rate of 191.36, the best of any player to score more than 100 runs. He didn’t reach the heights of last season with the ball but was still a handy contributor and often bowled the difficult overs, meaning he can share the duties of the fifth bowling option in this team with Christian.

8) Jhye Richardson (Perth Scorchers)

M: 14 | Wkts: 27 | Ave: 13.25 | Econ: 7.08 | BB: 2-24 | Dot ball percentage: 45.7%

Any questions about Jhye Richardson’s potency following the second of two shoulder operations have been emphatically silenced by the young Scorchers quick this summer. The pacey right-armer has taken five more wickets than any other bowler and among the competition’s leading fast bowlers, his tournament economy rate of 7.08 places him behind only teammate Jason Behrendorff (6.69). He has also bowled in the Power Surge in 12 of the 14 games he’s played and taken the most wickets (nine) of any bowler in that period at an impressive economy rate of 8.17. Throw in his handy batting down the order and it appears to be only a matter of time before the 24-year-old is lighting up the international arena again.

9) Adam Zampa (Melbourne Stars)

M: 12 | Wkts: 19 | Ave: 17.47 | Econ: 7.35 | BB: 5-17 | Dot ball percentage: 35.8%

There was no hint of hyperbole when national selector Trevor Hohns this week declared Adam Zampa had “developed into one of the best spinners in international white-ball cricket”. After an impressive international campaign to start the summer, Zampa enjoyed another dominant BBL to edge out teenager Tanveer Sangha for a spot in our team of the tournament. The fact he was able to thrive as a leg-spinner in the Power Surge with six wickets at an economy rate of 8.50 underlines how quickly he’s developed his craft in recent years.

10) Peter Siddle (Adelaide Strikers)

M: 12 | Wkts: 18 | Ave: 17.17 | Econ: 7.66 | BB: 5-16 | Dot ball percentage: 39.0%

Just when you thought Peter Siddle had achieved everything there is to achieve in cricket, the veteran has added ‘Power Surge specialist’ to his resume. Of all bowlers this season to send down more than two overs in the additional period of fielding restrictions, Siddle is the only one to concede less than eight runs an over. In fact, the veteran’s economy rate of 7.30 from 11.3 Surge overs – to go with his eight wickets in that period – is lower than his rate for the rest of the tournament. One half of a dynamic Strikers pace duo this season with Wes Agar, Siddle is showing no signs of slowing down as he approaches his late 30s.

11) Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Brisbane Heat) (OS)

M: 8 | Wkts: 14 | Ave: 13.42 | Econ: 6.26 | BB: 5-15 | Dot ball percentage: 42.1%

It’s easy to forget given he left the Heat on January 10 due to international duty, but Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s performance in BBL|10 cannot go unrecognised. Having missed the early stages of the tournament due to a bout of COVID19, the Afghan was both frugal and potent in a Heat side that struggled early in the competition. His economy rate of 6.26 is extraordinary and the best among all bowlers to take at least five wickets. And though he was only available for eight games, his numbers stack up against the leading spinners in the tournament and have earned him a spot here, just ahead of countryman, Rashid Khan.

X-Factors

Ben McDermott (Hobart Hurricanes)

M: 12 | Runs: 402 | Ave: 36.54 | SR: 139.58 | Basra: 176.12 | 50s: 3 | 100s: 0 | HS: 96

A slow finish to the season in some crunch games cost McDermott a spot in the XI, but it’s nonetheless been an excellent tournament for the powerful right-hander. His 402 runs have been enough to earn an international recall for the upcoming tour of New Zealand while he was also floated as a possible Test contender by both Ricky Ponting and Shane Warne. One of the cleanest strikers in the country when in top form, one gets the feeling the 26-year-old is on the cusp of taking his game to a new level.

Wes Agar (Adelaide Strikers)

M: 14 | Wkts: 21 | Ave: 20.33 | Econ: 8.23 | BB: 4-27 | Dot ball percentage: 40.70%

If teammate Peter Siddle and Scorchers quick Jhye Richardson had not has such fantastic seasons, Wes Agar could well have found himself in the final XI for this team. After a breakout campaign last summer, Agar has taken his game to new heights this campaign to finish the regular season in equal-fourth spot in the wicket-taker’s list. And the Strikers will be looking for plenty more as they plan to go deep into finals.