It's that time of year once again! The 2019-20 Big Bash League season is upon us and we are amped for another big year of BBL action! Before You Bet will be taking a big step forward in our BBL coverage this year as we provide a dedicated article for EVERY GAME of the BBL09 season!
Stay tuned throughout the season for our daily game previews! Today, however, we are taking a look at the season as a whole and giving some of our best future bets including BBL09 Winner, top runscorers, wicket takers and more.
You can also view a bunch of other season preview articles we have up on the site in the lead up to BBL09 below!
- Full BBL09 Squad Lists
- Full BBL09 Fixture
- Emerging Players to Watch in BBL09
- Predicted Starting Lineups
- Adelaide Strikers Team Preview
- Brisbane Heat Team Preview
- Hobart Hurricanes Team Preview
- Melbourne Renegades Team Preview
- Melbourne Stars Team Preview
- Perth Scorchers Team Preview
- Sydney Thunder Team Preview
- Sydney Sixers Team Preview
BBL09 Season Betting Tips
Big Bash Winner
The Brisbane Heat are no doubt the sexy pick of BBL09 with the additions they have made in the offseason, acquiring the services of South African Star A.B de Villiers and English young gun Tom Banton. They are definitely a solid choice, but we are going to look one step further down on the betting markets and target the Melbourne Stars.
The Stars were arguably the best team in the league last season and were unlucky not to win their first ever title. They were well on top in the Grand Final against the Renegades before a monumental batting collapse cost them the championship. They have a super talented list again with some massive inclusions and should be as hungry as any team in the league after their heartbreaking finish to BBL08.
The Stars added some top level talent this season including South African fast bowler Dale Steyn, who will be available for the first six matches of the season. More importantly though, they added a pair of talented all-rounders from the Scorchers in Hilton Cartwright and Nathan Coulter-Nile. Coulter-Nile in particular had a breakout campaign in the ODI World Cup and with his ability to bat in the top seven if needed, the Stars have an absolute embarrsment of riches in bowling options.
Marcus Stoinis, Hilton Cartwright and Coulter-Nile will all likely bat in the top eight, allowing the Stars to play two full time spinners in Sandeep Laminchhane and Adam Zampa, a recipe that has proved successful in T20's in recent history.
The Stars will lose some of their key players to the ODI series in India, but they will be back for the finals series. You only have to make the top 5 to give yourself a chance this year, and with a full line-up, the Stars are capable of beating anyone.
Melbourne Stars to win
$5.50
Top Series Runscorer
There are a few players who we like in this market. The most important thing to consider here is avoiding players who have the potential to miss games through international duty. That rules out the likes of Matthew Wade and Alex Carey, who would have otherwide been high on the betting markets.
Shaun Marsh and Chris Lynn's days in ODI colours for Australia are likely over, meaning both of them are solid choices here, but one name sticks out above the rest for us. Usman Khawaja seems to have completely fallen out of favour with Australian selectors after a form slump in Test cricket. The Australian ODI line-up also looks pretty settled without Khawaja at the moment, so it's unlikely that he will make the trip to India.
In limited games in the Big Bash League, Khawaja has been absolutely dominant. In 25 BBL innings in his career, Khawaja has ammassed 992 runs at a ridiculous average of 49.60, which is the highest active BBL average. He is one of just three players with two 100s in BBL history, alongside Luke Wright and Criag Simmons.
Usman Khawaja top runscorer
$11
Top Series Wicket Taker
While the spinners are all of the hype leading up to BBL09, it's the Aussie quicks that generally get the job done in the leading wicket-taker department. Of the nine different leading wicket-takers in the Big Bash League, Rashid Khan is the only spinner on the list, and six of the other eight pacemen are from Australia.
Kane Richardson, Sean Abbot, Clint McKay, John Hastings, Cameron Gannon and Ben Laughlin have all picked up the award once, and it's the Sydney Sixer who we like to become the first repeat winner.
Abbot sits second to only Laughlin in teh all-time leading wicket takers in BBL history, and will shoulder a massive workload with the ball for the Sixers once again this season. His ability to swing the new ball both ways always makes him a chance to pick up wickets in the first power play and his average of just 15.6 is the eighth best in BBL history and the fourth best amongst active players.
Sean Abbot top wicket taker
$17