With the tenth edition of the Big Bash League well underway, we are once again reminded of the quality of players on offer in the Australian competition. Since its inception in 2011, there have been several supreme performances both from individuals and teams in games and tournaments as a whole. In this forthcoming analysis series, we will identify and analyse the best displays on a team-by-team basis by players since BBL01, looking at the numbers behind some of the most memorable Big Bash games. Here, in part one of the batting analysis, we look at and analyse the best batting performances of the first four sides from the past ten years.
Adelaide Strikers – Travis Head 101* off 53 balls vs Sydney Sixers, 4 x 4s 9 x 6s, 31/12/15
There have been 24 centuries scored in the BBL (at the time of writing), and arguably none have been more memorable than Travis Head’s superb knock on New Year’s Eve 2015, the first three-figure score by a Strikers batsman.
Having taken 19 balls to score a boundary, the left-hander was on 45 from 38 balls with just three overs to go and his side still needing 51 runs to reach their target of 177. From the 18th over he muscled 27 runs by virtue of three sixes (two over mid-wicket, one over square leg), two fours (long on and third man) and a single from the last ball – to wrestle his side back into contention needing 24 from 12. An otherwise-tight Doug Bollinger over was blemished by a Head strike clearing the ropes over extra cover to go for 11, before Head took Sean Abbott to the cleaners by smashing the first three balls of the final over for six – again showing his penchant for the leg-side by despatching two over deep mid-wicket and one over square leg – to bring up not only an improbable victory, but also one of the finest hundreds witnessed in the BBL.
The South Australian’s innings was one of the finest the tournament has seen, Head hitting a remarkable 56 runs in the last 15 balls including seven sixes in 14 deliveries. There should be an honourable mention for Jake Weatherald’s 115 in the final of BBL07, but for style, substance, importance and the position of the match, Head’s innings takes the prize. His cumulative innings score can be seen below.
His fairly sedate start can be witnessed by the fact that he was scoring at about a run-a-ball until the 30th delivery he faced, where from then on it rapidly accelerates upwards. His performance compared to all other batsmen in the game is seen below, where not only did he vastly outscore anybody else, but he also possessed the highest strike-rate of any player barring Adil Rashid, who scored just two off one ball.
Despite Johan Botha scoring quickly for his 38 off 20 balls it was no match for Head’s innings, whilst the lack of support he received in the chase from his teammates is also seen – the next highest scorer being Tim Ludeman with just 26.
Brisbane Heat – Chris Lynn 98* off 49 balls vs Perth Scorchers, 3 x 4s 11 x 6s, 5/1/17
Formerly part of the ‘Bash Brothers’ at the top of the Brisbane Heat batting order with Brendon McCullum, the powerful Chris Lynn has carved his name out as one of the most destructive white-ball batsmen in the world thanks to his exploits for his local T20 team, and never was this more apt than his explosive 98 from just 49 balls against the Perth Scorchers in January 2016.
Chasing 174 at the Scorchers’ formidable WACA home ground against a fearsome attack including Mitchell Johnson, AJ Tye and Jhye Richardson, the Bash Brothers made a mockery of their target by chasing it down in just 14.4 overs, and it was arguably Lynn’s finest Heat performance to date.
Showing a remarkable disdain for the Perth bowling line-up, Lynn demonstrated a stunning repertoire of power and poise to obliterate the ball to all parts of the ground with eleven sixes – including a huge 102m strike off Tye into the top tier of the Lillee Marsh Stand – a feat matched on only three other occasions in the BBL by Chris Gayle for the Melbourne Renegades, Craig Simmons for the Strikers and then once again by Lynn himself two years later against the Sydney Sixers (a performance which came a close second in our list behind this knock).
The pair put on an unbeaten 145-run stand, never seeing the run-rate drop below ten runs-per-over during their time at the crease, to produce at the time the highest second-wicket BBL partnership and now still second on the list. The fact that New Zealander McCullum, one of the finest batsmen of his generation and a genuine revolutionary in terms of the way white-ball cricket was played around the world, was required to play second fiddle to Lynn indicates the level of expertise demonstrated by the Queenslander. His strike-rate of 200 can be seen in his ball-by-ball scoring graph below.
Both the outstanding quantity and quality of his runs in comparison to other batsmen in the game are on the following graph.
Despite there being three half-centuries in the game it was Lynn who managed to cash in the most, his scoring rate of two runs a ball surpassing Marsh’s 70 and McCullum’s 50 in both size and speed – despite the aforementioned duo scoring at rates of 170.73 and 161.29 respectively. Whilst Lynn will almost surely continue to demonstrate his power and bowler-bullying ability in the future, there will be few that match.
Hobart Hurricanes – Ben McDermott 114 off 52 balls vs Melbourne Renegades, 8 x 4s 9 x 6s, 12/1/17
Fans of the Hobart Hurricanes have perhaps been spoiled for choice when it comes to explosive innings’ in the BBL, with the likes of Matthew Wade and D’Arcy Short producing several high-class knocks such as Wade’s 130* from 61 balls against the Strikers in January 2020 and Short’s two centuries of his own. However, one Hurricanes match sticks in the memory more than ever – fans of the Renegades look away now – and it is their iconic chase of 223 in January 2017.
In the face of the largest total scored in Big Bash history, the Hurricanes were the victors in a dramatic chase and, led by an incredible 114 from Ben McDermott, eventually sealed victory by two wickets from the last ball of the match.
However, despite the mammoth score he eventually was dismissed for, the right-hander made a slow start to his innings by being just one off six balls faced, 13 from 13 and later 28 off 25. From then on in, though, he scored 86 off 27 balls at a strike-rate of 318.52 as he blitzed the Renegades’ attack, taking 17 off four balls in a Brad Hogg over and then 21 off five James Pattinson deliveries later on. He dazzled with a plethora of shots mainly square of the wicket, frequently muscling the ball over deep mid-wicket and square leg to take his side to a historic result.
The relatively lengthy time he took to get going can be seen by the mainly horizontal nature of the first part of his ball-by-ball scoring graph below, but from then on his explosion is indicated by the near-vertical movement of the worm. 
The high-scoring match is also highlighted perfectly by the six batsmen who possessed a strike-rate of or in excess of 200 – albeit none of whom were able to match McDermott’s massive total. 
A staggering nine players surpassed a strike-rate of 150.00, although no Hurricanes batsman was able to combine this with a score of any substance, Short being the top-scorer of the three – McDermott aside – with just 18. George Bailey’s slightly slower 59 from 42 was the most help provided to McDermott, and allowed the dynamic wicket-keeper batsman to play a huge part in this historic success.
Melbourne Renegades – Aaron Finch 111 off 65 balls vs Melbourne Stars, 12 x 4s 4 x 6s, 7/12/12
Mention the Melbourne Renegades and the first man that will probably come to mind is Aaron Finch. The opening batsman is synonymous with the red side of Melbourne having represented them in every year of the BBL, captaining them in all but the inaugural season of the competition, and the innings of choice here comes from Finch’s first year as leader.
Chasing a challenging total of 168 against their cross-town rivals the Melbourne Stars in the opening game of BBL02, Finch led the way against a hugely experienced bowling line-up consisting of T20 veteran Lasith Malinga, the wily Clint McKay and James Faulkner and legendary spinner Shane Warne, and it was when the man now known as one of the best and most explosive white-ball batsmen in the game, he of eight T20 centuries at a strike-rate of 142.18, announced himself as a major player at the top level.
With Warne the main attraction in a star-studded match also featuring fellow record-breaking spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, it was Finch who stole the show with his 16 boundaries, tearing into Warne to hit 19 from his first over which included two huge sixes, over mid-wicket and cover respectively. Finch’s onslaught of Warne was a clear indicator of his desire to assert his dominance over the Stars following a relatively slow start, having previously been 26 from just 21 balls at one stage. He then shifted through the gears rapidly, progressing from 26 to 71 in just 18 balls at a strike-rate of 25, as can be seen by his rapidly increasing worm in the graph below. 
The game itself was littered with high-scoring innings’, although Finch’s match-winning knock the most substantial, and one that ensured the Renegades would not settle for being the underdog against their local rivals.
Although the quickest scorer in the game was Wade with 14 off eight at a strike-rate of 175.00 Finch was not far behind, but obviously compiling a much more significant total in the process. He was supported by Ben Rohrer’s 34 off 20, and the pair dovetailed to see their team home.