Twenty20 Betting: Get on the Scorchers for Big Bash success

Twenty20 / Andrew Hughes / 14 December 2011 /

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If it’s gaudy polyester shirts, it must be Twenty20 time

"The Perth Scorchers may be without Michael Hussey, Shaun Marsh and Mitchell Johnson, but they can still put out one of the strongest teams in the competition and they have an ideal blend."

The Big Bash League gets underway on Friday and Andrew Hughes believes he's dug out the winner at a decent price.

What is it?
The BBL is Australia's version of the IPL, though hopefully without the sponsored blimps, strategy breaks or Ravi Shastri. The six state teams of the Twenty20 Big Bash are replaced by eight city-based franchises, with Melbourne and Sydney getting two each. And unlike the IPL, there's a relatively simple schedule consisting of a home and away round robin with the top four progressing to the semi-finals.

So who's in it then?
Apart from captain Michael Clarke, all the big name Aussies are there, and although it hasn't been the same draw as the IPL, there's plenty of international interest. The usual suspects from the Caribbean, Chris Gayle (Sydney Thunder) Dwayne Bravo (Sydney Sixers) and Kieron Pollard (Adelaide Strikers) are involved and Black Caps stars Brendon McCullum and Daniel Vettori are both signed up for the Brisbane Heat.

Herschelle Gibbs will join Paul Collingwood in the Perth Scorchers squad and Abdul Razzaq and Shahid Afridi are exciting signings for the Melbourne Renegades. Michael Lumb, Owais Shah, Jade Dernbach and Luke Wright are the other English players involved and a couple of old timers Matthew Hayden (Brisbane) and Stuart MacGill (Sixers) have been persuaded out of retirement. And speaking of old timers....

Where's Warnie?
The BBL organisers pulled off a massive coup by persuading Shane Warne to turn out for Melbourne Stars, the lure of playing in front of his adoring fans at the MCG proving too tempting for him to resist. Unfortunately, at the age of 42, his reflexes are not what they were and on Sunday he sustained a nasty burn to his bowling hand whilst trying to make himself a bacon sarnie. He may miss the Stars' opening game

What should we look out for?
When you're weighing up the squads, be aware that most of the Aussie Test players will be unavailable for most of the tournament. Some, like Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson and Shaun Marsh, are injured but even when they're fit again, they'll be involved in the series against India which coincides with the BBL.

And when it comes to match betting, punters should be wary of taking short odds about any team. The IPL showed that in such an unpredictable format where every side is full of match winners, there is usually little to choose between any of them. Indeed, during the IPL's first season, you could make money by just backing the bigger priced of the two teams in any given game.

So who's going to win it?
Punters are taking a cautious approach and there's not much of a price gap between top and bottom in the winner's market, but I think the value is to be found in a team at the wrong end. The Perth Scorchers may be without Michael Hussey, Shaun Marsh and Mitchell Johnson, but they can still put out one of the strongest teams in the competition and they have an ideal blend.

Their batting is their strength, with Simon Katich, Herschelle Gibbs, Marcus North and Paul Collingwood bringing the experience, supported by Mitchell Marsh and Luke Pomersbach, younger batsmen with IPL experience. Ben Edmonson and Nathan Rimmington are reliable domestic Twenty20 bowlers, and they are backed up by exciting young quick Nathan Coulter Nile, international spinner Michael Beer and wily old left-armer Brad Hogg. At [9.6] the Scorchers are a stand-out bet.

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