The Big Bash League is back!
The 14th edition of the BBL gets underway on Sunday night with the Scorchers hosting the Stars in a blockbuster start to BBL14. Once again, we're looking forward to another fun season of fantasy BBL at Draftstars with a heap of different contests available. The action kicks off with a $20,000 guarantee contest on Sunday night, as well as the first Qualifier to the Big Bash Star for 2024. If you're still catching up on the news, the Big Bash Star is offering a $50,000 prize pool guarantee!
Scorchers vs Stars $20,000 Contest ($15 entry)
Scorchers vs Stars $3,000 High Roller ($150 entry)
Scorchers vs Stars $1,500 Mini ($2 entry)
Scorchers vs Stars Big Bash Qualifier ($10 entry)
For betting tips on this match, and every match of the BBL14 season, make sure you head to our BBL tips page.
Big Bash League (BBL14) Fantasy Tips: Scorchers vs Stars
Optus Stadium, Sunday 7:15pm AEDT
Scorchers Squad: Ashton Turner (c), Ashton Agar, Finn Allen (New Zealand), Jason Behrendorff, Cooper Connolly, Sam Fanning, Nick Hobson, Matthew Hurst (England), Bryce Jackson, Keaton Jennings (England), Matt Kelly, Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye
Stars Squad: Marcus Stoinis (c), Austin Anlezark, Hilton Cartwright, Joe Clarke (England), Brody Couch, Tom Curran (England), Sam Harper, Hamish McKenzie, Jonathan Merlo, Adam Milne (New Zealand), Tom Rogers, Peter Siddle, Doug Warren, Beau Webster
Both the Scorchers and the Stars are likely contenders in BBL14 with strong squads on paper. As the first game of the season, it's hard to know exaclty how they will lineup, so the most important thing is to take a close look at the lineups after the toss 30 minutes prior to the start time.
There's some injury clouds over Scorchers skipper Ashton Turner who hasn't played in 12 months due to a knee injury. Ashton Agar and Cooper Connolly are also both coming back from injury but have been named in the Scorchers squad.
The Stars will be missing Glenn Maxwell who is still recovering from a hamstring injury, while Scott Boland, Ben Duckett and Usama Mir are all on international duty. Big Beau Webster has been released from the Test squad to be available for this one.
Fantasy Plays
Love It – Marcus Stoinis ($17,300)
A few seasons ago, Marcus Stoinis would've been the first picked in your BBL drafts. He's been off the boil a little in recent years, but looked back to his best in the T20s against Pakistan. He's taken the captaincy of the Stars this year and hopefully gets good opportunity with both bat and ball. You can pick him as a bowler to balance your lineups and I like the look of his price as he'll be making a big impact in this one.
Love It – Finn Allen ($19,500)
If you like the Scorchers to go well then take a look at Finn Allen. The Kiwi is a devastating T20 cricketer and could be in for a very good BBL campaign. His strike rate is almost 170 across his T20 career, so he won't be mucking around!
Don’t Love It – Andrew Tye ($17,600)
Not fussed chasing the price of Andrew Tye. Used to be a premium T20 bowler but hasn't been the same since he tried to start bowling 140 clicks. I think there's better ways to use your budget than Tye in this one.
Don’t Love It – Beau Webster ($18,000)
Maybe big Beau has arrived as a player, but he has been under-utilised in the BBL in the past. He hasn't bowled a hell of a lot in BBL, and hasn't had a heap of opportunity with the bat. At his best, he's a powerful mutli-dimensional player, with arguably the best hands in Australian cricket, but at $18k I don't mind a fade and hope that the field get lured into his recent Test squad announcement.
Who Knows – Ashton Turner ($11,400)
Your budget choices will depend on who is selected, so we'll have to wait for the toss for that. Ashton Turner is coming back from a major injury but he's a fantastic T20 cricket if at full fitness. Capable of anything, who knows what we'll get. Do we take the risk or find value elsewhere?
Suggested Draftstars Lineup
