Players from across the competition's eight clubs make their predictions for the KFC BBL|13 season
Best of the BBL: Players have their say
The players' verdict is in and it's clear there are two clear favourites to take out the KFC BBL|13 title.
We polled 35 players from across the competition's eight clubs on the biggest talking points ahead of the new season with the majority believing Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers will again be the teams to beat.
Players also gave us their take on the favourite to take out the player of the tournament award, their favourite ground and which cricketer could have made it to the AFL or NRL.
Each response was then given a percentage score out of 100 to determine the final rankings. Scroll down to see the full results.
Who will be the player of BBL|13?
26%: Matt Short
9%: Tim David
6%: Ben McDermott, Daniel Sams, Will Sutherland, Aaron Hardie, Ollie Davies, Glenn Maxwell
3%: Tom Rogers (Renegades), Alex Hales, Tanveer Sangha, Cameron Bancroft, Jamie Overton, Chris Lynn, Henry Hunt, D'Arcy Short, Mitchell Swepson, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Steve O'Keefe
The reigning BBL player of the tournament is the clear favourite among his peers to take out the accolade for the second straight season. And after a taste of international cricket during the off-season, he's started the season where he left off last summer with back-to-back half-centuries against the Thunder and Sixers.
Overseas player most excited to watch in BBL13?
36%: Quinton de Kock
17%: Jamie Overton
14%: Alex Hales
8%: Corey Anderson
6%: Tom Curran, Zaman Khan
3%: Sam Hain, David Payne, Chris Jordan, Adam Hose, Colin Munro
No surprises here after Quinton de Kock hit four centuries during South Africa's ODI World Cup campaign. The superstar gloveman is making his maiden appearance in the Big Bash and briefly showed Renegades fans what he can do with a 22-ball 38 against the Hurricanes yesterday that included three sixes.
Jamie Overton is also making his first appearance in the competition after a dominant Hundred campaign for Manchester Originals this year, while Sydney Thunder stalwart Alex Hales is the BBL's all-time overseas leading run-scorer.
Who's the best BBL commentator?
29%: Mark Howard
18%: Ricky Ponting
12%: Adam Gilchrist
9%: Brad Hodge
6%: Callum Ferguson, Brad Haddin
3%: Will Pucovski, Greg Blewett, Isa Guha, Jason Richardson, Brett Lee, Mark Waugh, Steve O'Keefe
The man they call 'Howie' gets the nod over Aussie legends Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist. The Channel 10 alumni have all been involved in the Big Bash since the early stages and are synonymous with some of the biggest moments in the competition's history.
What's the best BBL venue to play at? (excluding your home ground)
46%: Adelaide Oval
17%: Optus Stadium
14%: Gabba
9%: SCG
6%: MCG, Blundstone Arena
3%: Coffs Harbour
It's one of the most picturesque sporting stadiums in the world so it's not hard to see why the players love visiting Adelaide Oval. While the Scorchers home ground is intimidating for away teams, there's always a bumper crowd and great atmosphere, which is what players love about playing in the Big Bash.
Which teams will be in the final? (excluding your team)
36%: Perth Scorchers
30%: Sydney Sixers
10%: Melbourne Renegades
7%: Melbourne Stars
6%: Hobart Hurricanes
4%: Sydney Thunder
3%: Adelaide Strikers, Brisbane Heat
It's not hard to see why these two clubs are the clear favourites – the Scorchers have won five BBL titles and the Sixers three, which equates to 67 per cent of the silverware handed out across the competition's 12 seasons.
Which BBL player could have made it to the AFL/NRL?
29%: Will Sutherland
6%: Max Bryant, Paddy Dooley, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey
3%: Mitch Owen, Sam Harper, Matt Short, Cameron Green, Brendan Doggett, Matthew Gilkes, Tanveer Sangha, Ben Dwarshuis, Liam Hatcher, Henry Hunt, Thomas Kelly, Chris Lynn, Wes Agar, Fergus O'Neill
Will 'Chief' Sutherland was rated as a potential first-round AFL draft pick before ultimately deciding his passion was cricket. And it seems he made the right call after being named Victoria's Marsh Sheffield Shield captain this season and continues to see his stocks rise in the BBL with a strong start for the Renegades.
It's somewhat surprising Alex Carey didn't poll more votes after being the inaugural captain of Greater Western Sydney in their pre-AFL days before being delisted, while Mitch Marsh played as a key forward for WA in the 2008 national under-18 carnival, kicking four goals in one game against Tasmania.
KFC BBL|13 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
HEA
|
10 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0.972 | 0 | 16 |
|
2
SIX
|
10 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.339 | 0 | 14 |
|
3
SCO
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.725 | 0 | 13 |
|
4
STR
|
10 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0.331 | 0 | 11 |
|
5
HUR
|
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -0.268 | 0 | 8 |
|
6
STA
|
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -1.051 | 0 | 8 |
|
7
REN
|
10 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2 | -0.288 | 0 | 6 |
|
8
THU
|
10 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2 | -0.652 | 0 | 4 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points
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