BIG BASH: The Big Bash League got underway on Tuesday in suitably dramatic fashion. Sydney Thunder belied their long odds status in the league with a thrilling win over the Sydney Sixers. As is almost the norm for the limited overs Australian league, a nerve shredding climax saw Aiden Blizzard score a final run off the last ball to give Thunder a one run win.

With matches like this it’s easy to see why the Big Bash League has grown to be the fifth most watched sports league in the world. This year as ever, promises to be ultra-competitive. Bearing that in mind, we can find great value in what is a very open market.

Front Runners

A cursory look at the outright market on Betdaq shows four clear favourites, followed by four whose price suggest they’ll be missing out on the semi-finals. You can back any one of the Perth Scorchers, Melbourne Renegades, Brisbane Heat or Melbourne Stars to win the title outright for odds of around 5.0 to 6.0 on our exchange. The remaining half of the league – The Sixers, Strikers, the Hurricanes, and Sydney Thunder are bit longer at anything from 10 to 15’s.

Of the front runners, The Scorchers will be many people’s favourites. Being defending champions and the most successful team in the competition’s history makes an inevitability about that to a degree. They have a squad perfectly tilted towards the T20 format, including their much accomplished coach Justin Langer who has presided over all three of their Big Bash title wins. Their strength does come with a health warning, as several of their bigger stars are likely to miss key games towards the sharp end of the competition due to international obligations.

Along with the Scorchers, the Melbourne Stars have never failed to reach the final four since the competition’s inception. Despite their opening round defeat at the hand of Brisbane Heat, they remain strong contenders. With Luke Wright, 4th highest BBL run total of all time, and Kevin Peterson, with a run average of 40.18, the Stars are well primed for another tilt at that elusive first title. You can back them on our exchange around 5’s on our exchange, which for a team with the BBL pedigree the Stars have is generous.

Beyond the Pale

Of the weaker half of the league, we like Sydney Thunder. The Thunder finished last in the BBL last season but come into this years’ instalment in far better shape. Boasting an on fire Shane Watson, who hit 77 runs from 46 balls in their season opener against the Sixers, they’ll also relish having Jos Buttler for their first six games before he heads off for international duty. Buttler holds the record for England’s three quickest ODI centuries and Sydney’s supposed weaker BBL club will hope he can provide them with some much needed momentum in the opening rounds. Backing last years’ basement team would seem somewhat beyond the pale in terms of a betting strategy but the green shoots are there for an unexpected revival. Despite their opening win, they can still be backed at odds of 9.2 on the Betdaq exchange. If they make it to the semi-finals then there’s a chance to lock in some profit by trading out.

Best Bet

As we alluded to, the BBL is an open book when it comes to betting. The favourites are as long as 4’s, the longest team are as short as 12’s, there’s definite value to be had here.

As discussed Sydney Thunder are our outside bet but the best bet is to get behind Kevin Peterson, Luke Wright and the Melbourne Stars at 6’s. They’ve never won the competition but look primed to breakthrough this season.

Did you know that as well as checking the realtime prices on BETDAQ below – you can also log into your account and place your bets directly into BETDAQ from BETDAQ TIPS.

Bet via BETDAQ mobile below

PD