BBL 10 | Top 5 batsmen that have set the stage on fire

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Australia's cricket grounds are a hard-hitters' nightmare. Lofts clobbered right from the screws that would have spectators ducking and swaying for cover in Wankhede find the man on the fence in Adelaide. The pace and bounce on offer sure come handy to deploy those long levers, but only a sparse few who strike the equilibrium between force and finesse consistently taste success in the long run. Mentioned below are the fab-five batsmen of the Big Bash League 2021. Run raiders who thrive in their bandit territories, dumping many a bowler to the knacker's yard. Mesmerizing crowd-pullers who adhere to the holy gospel of eat, sleep, smash and repeat. 

1) Alex Hales

It's been two years since Alex Hales last donned the England jersey, but the fire is burning in his belly, as vigorously as ever before. The rangy opener is landing punch after punch on the selection doors, having bombed 535 runs in 14 innings at a strike rate of 163.60 for Sydney Thunder. Three half-centuries and a sweltering ton have razed from his willow, and there could be further destruction on the cards with potentially three games left in store. 

The second-highest run-getter in the previous season, Hales has his hawk eyes affixed on the crown this time around as he stays 81 ahead of the next best. In what is another feather to his cap, he’s also made his own the record for most sixes hit (30) in a single season by eclipsing Marcus Stoinis' feat of 28 maximums. 

2) Josh Phillipe

Following a breakthrough stint last summer that lifted him to the cusp of an international debut, Josh Philippe has extended his rich vein of form to this season with 454 runs in 14 innings. The youngster is within sniffing distance of matching his runs tally from BBL|09, while his strike-rate has soared to almost 150, a giant leap of 20 odd from the previous edition. The three-figure mark remains to be breached, but knocks of 85 and 94 underline his hunger for big scores. Phillipe has looked very comfortable against both spin and pace bowling and has timed the ball exceedingly well. The Sixers batting unit has been on song throughout the season and there are good reasons to believe that Josh Phillipe might finish the tournament as the top run scorer of the current edition.

3) Chris Lynn

Lynnsanity, as the promoters call it, is part and parcel of the fireworks that light up the BBL sky. Chris Lynn has aggregated 420 runs in merely 10 innings and holds the highest average of 42 among the top ten performers with the bat. Despite missing as many as four games to a torn hamstring, that he has done enough to be placed only below Hales and Philipp in the list is laudable. He's gone about his business with typical fury, striking it at 157.30, a number bettered only by Hales in the 25 leading run-scorers of the tournament. With pace being bowled to him up top, there have been days where his ball striking has been compared to a thunderclap. He USP of hitting the ball extremely hard has earned him truckloads of runs and with Marnus Labuschange back in the line up Heat will be confident of going deep into the BBL playoffs phase.

 4) Alex Carey

Alex Carey is amongst the sweetest timers of a cricket ball, and his run-spree in BBL 10 proves the point. The suave southpaw has garnered 412 runs in 12 innings, including a rowdy hundred against Brisbane Heat soon after Delhi Capitals released him from their pool for the upcoming campaign. Just for the record, it was the first century in the current BBL and his personal second in the league's history. Given Carey's red-hot form, IPL franchises on the hunt for an attacking wicket-keeper batsman will surely sit up and take notice.

5) Colin Munro 

Colin Munro has copped a lot of flak previously for dealing in extremes. His assaults were generally ensued by a string of pedestrian scores. However, he has made amends in the consistency department, as there are 411 runs stacked in front of his name at a healthy average of 34.25. That left-handed dasher has crossed 25 in eight of his 13 innings in BBL 2021 provides adequate evidence of his uniformity. Perth Scorchers' triumphant run in the second half of the tournament coincided with Munro’s purple patch, and they would hope he delivers the goods in the grand finale as well. 

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