Following our initial analysis of the best Big Bash batting performances to date, we now follow that up with the second half of our analysis, looking at the statistics behind the final four sides’ most memorable batting masterclasses from the last ten years of the competition.
Melbourne Stars – Marcus Stoinis 147* off 79 balls vs Sydney Sixers, 13 x 4s 8 x 6s, 12/1/20
Of all the big-hitting innings seen in the Big Bash over the past ten years, none have accumulated to the total produced by Marcus Stoinis against the Sixers in early 2020. In a display combining power, precision and poise, the muscular all-rounder belted the ball all around the expansive MCG to put the Sixers bowling attack to the sword.
Combining with Hilton Cartwright to put on the joint seventh-highest T20 partnership of all time with 207, Stoinis hit 13 fours and eight sixes in his 79-ball knock, the joint-longest of any batsman in T20 history. The figures of several Sixers bowlers were ruined by Stoinis’ awesome display of big-hitting, including Ben Dwarshius’ conceding of 61 runs – the worst by any bowler in the BBL – and also dispatching Tom Curran for 26 runs off his third over as he ended with one wicket for 58 runs given away.
Yet despite the mammoth score he eventually compiled, it took Stoinis several deliveries to find his stride.
Looking at his worm above his slow start is evident, as it took him 12 balls to get above a run-a-ball and was later only 22 from 18 balls. However, his acceleration at the back end of his innings is clear to see by the near-vertical movement of the worm, pretty much constantly moving up for the second half of his knock.
When comparing Stoinis to the other innings’ within the game, his longevity at the crease is unparalleled. 
With the Stars batting first, the target posed by Stoinis and Cartwright proved just too much for the Sydneysiders to chase as no Sixers batsman was able to consistently score quickly in order to bring their side close to victory; an honourable mention should go to Dwarshuis’ 42 off 17, although coming in at number eight it was too little, too late.
Sydney Sixers – Daniel Hughes 96 off 51 balls vs Melbourne Stars, 6 x 4s 7 x 6s, 26/12/20
The most recent entry into our list, Daniel Hughes’ 96 was vital in the Sixers securing a crucial win against fellow BBL big-hitters the Stars, and it was an innings of great mental clarity and forethought in addition to just brawn.
Seeing his team struggling, being 84/4, 100/5 and 126/6 at various points in pursuit of 194, captain Hughes made sure he was the man to take his side right up to the finishing line in an expert display of tactical scoring and decision-making. Starting with a flurry, he moved to 48 from 28 as the Sixers looked to hunt down their big target set thanks to previous magic from Stars pair Glenn Maxwell (71 from 47) and Nicholas Pooran (65 from 26), although as top-order wickets fell he suitably changed tact. As he was looking to rebuild he sensibly milked ones and twos, interspersed with the odd boundary to keep the score ticking over to, using a common modern-day parlance, try and take the game as deep as possible. His scoring worm is below, where the slower rate he scored at can clearly be seen in the middle of his innings.
With the game moving to the dying stages, though, and 43 required from the last three overs, the left-hander saw his time to move back up through the gears. As leg-spinner Adam Zampa was brought back into the attack Hughes mauled him for 20, 16 of those coming in the last three balls with a sweep over backward square for four and then hitting inside-out over long-off and then sweeping again for back-to-back sixes.
However, Liam Hatcher’s smart penultimate over saw the Sixers claim only three runs for the loss of two wickets – leaving 20 required off the last. A flat six over long-on from the first ball brought the total down to a still, before a four and six from the next two brought them within touching distance. Although Hughes fell next ball, holing out at deep mid-wicket trying to secure the win and his century with a six, his side managed to get home nevertheless – highlighting just how important Hughes’ excellent innings was.
When comparing Hughes’ knock to the others in the match, it is no slight on him that his strike-rate did not reach the exceptional heights of Pooran earlier in the day but more a testament to just how outstanding the West Indian’s innings was.
Sydney Thunder – Usman Khawaja 104* off 59 balls vs Adelaide Strikers, 13 x 4s 3 x 6s, 21/1/16
During the opening few years of the BBL, there was one team who were the tournament whipping boys. Finishing bottom of the table for the first three years before rising a place to seventh in the fourth, a record of P31 W5 L25 NR1 from these four seasons indicates their struggle. Yet a change of tact in BBL05 saw them claim a fourth-place finish to qualify for the semi-finals, and thanks to a sublime Usman Khawaja innings they were able to secure a place in the final – which they duly won.
In this crucial knock of his, he wasted no time in setting his stall out from the off, allowing partner Shane Watson to face only three balls in the first four overs – by which time he was 48 off just 22 balls as the score sat at 53/0. He moved from the 20s to the 40s in just three balls, and the run-rate of the team as a whole did not drop below ten runs-per-over until the end of the ninth – although Khawaja was scoring at over 200 with 67 from just 33.
He used his feet expertly in his faultless knock to score adroitly off both pace and spin, although the bowler who took most punishment was Michael Neser, the right-armer going for 19 off his first over to finish with figures of 0-33 from three overs. Despite the brutality of his run-getting there was not a mistimed or slogged shot amongst them. As can be seen in his worm below, although there were a few times when he was not as destructive as others, his innings was littered with exceptional periods of quick scoring.
When analysing the graph consisting of all batsmen from the match (below), excluding Adil Rashid’s 14 from three balls it is Khawaja who has the highest strike-rate of anybody, his scoring speed of 176.27 runs scored per 100 balls faced just higher than Neser’s 168.75.
Not only, then, did he score the most runs in the match, but also at the fastest rate of anybody to score 15 runs or more. Ably assisted by Henry Nicholls’ 35 from 27 to see the Thunder through, Khawaja’s sublime knock was the catalyst for their team to progress to their first final – and ultimately turn their Big Bash fortunes around from thereon in.
Perth Scorchers – Craig Simmons 112 off 58 balls, 4 x 4s 11 x 6s, 4/2/14
Perhaps one of the forgotten early days BBL hitters, the brutal Craig Simmons was one of the largest strikers of a ball at the top of the order for first the Perth Scorchers and then the Adelaide Strikers from BBL03 until BBL05. Arguably his finest hour came during his one season in Western Australia in the semi-final of BBL03, as he blasted 112 from just 58 deliveries to propel his team into the final, which they would ultimately win.
The strapping opener had already hit one three-figure score in the tournament, devouring his future employers the Strikers with a 41-ball 102, but here he went one better, taking control of a bowling line-up that boasted Brett Lee, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood as he struck four fours and a huge 11 sixes, peppering the leg-side boundary in front of the famous old pavilion at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
However, despite finishing on such a huge total, Simmons’ start was actually incredibly slow.
As can be seen from his scoring worm (above), he was virtually stagnant in the infantile stages of his knock, at one point sitting on six runs from the 16 deliveries he had faced – meaning he accumulated 106 from his final 42 balls – whilst his innings strike-rate did not pass 100.00 until the 29th ball of his innings when he moved to 33.
Once he found his rhythm, though, he was unstoppable, taking 23 from a Sean Abbott over and then 21 off Hazlewood as he scored his second half-century in just 17 balls.
As illustrated on the above graph, the left-hander was the biggest scorer of the day bar-none, albeit the Sixers’ reply was heavily hampered by rain reducing their target to 54 off five overs, which they fell six runs short of. On such a sticky wicket against such a high-class bowling attack, in a semi-final to boot, this innings of Simmons’ was a high-quality display from someone previously thought of as a bulky slogger – meaning it pips his earlier century as the best Scorchers knock to date.