daily fantasy sports articles

The final match of the BBL08 regular season is upon us with the Melbourne Stars hosting the Sydney Sixers at the MCG. This is a do or die clash for the Stars as a win will see them finish in 4^th spot, while a loss will see them miss the finals after their annihilation at the hands of the Heat on Friday night. The Sixers are locked in to a home final unless their net run rate takes a big hit (a loss of 62 runs or 7.4 overs) so they still have a bit to play for.

The Stars remain unchanged from the squad that lost to the Heat, while the Sixers bring in Nathan Lyon for potentially his first game of the season. Last time these two teams played was early in the season and the Stars scored a comprehensive win at the SCG.

The MCG has generally been a lower scoring venue and teams batting last have a very good record in recent seasons. This is also reflected in the fantasy point output of matches here, with less points being scored at this ground than any other in the country. The spread is quite even between bat and ball but interestingly the Stars give up the least points to batsmen in the competition (stats from our BBL Resources Points Against page).

Want to win a free trip to stay at Crown Metropol in Melbourne and play off for a first prize of $50,000? Then the Draftstars “Biggest Bash” contest is for you! With a $2 qualifier running on every BBL contest, here is your chance to party at the VIP Live Final with former Australian fast bowler Brett Lee and compete for a share of $150,000!

Our latest Biggest Bash qualifier interview is with Simon Fitzpatrick aka “Harambe”, the winner of the 2015 Burnie Gift who is now keen to show a clean pair of heels to his DFS opponents at the Live Final!

We have a number of other interviews with qualifying winners this season:

• Jason Knox aka “Knoxinator” won the first qualifier of the season with a solitary $2 lineup!
• Shaun O’Neill aka “THE_BEARD” booked his ticket into the final thanks to one of three lineups he entered while at the pub with his girlfriend!
• No one knows who the “Donkey” is but he will also be at the final after riding Ashton Turner to victory!
• Brent Trannore aka “Brento” came from the clouds thanks to a couple of big blows from Dan Christian to slide into 1^st place and win a trip with the better half to Melbourne for the final!
• Adam Rathjen aka “Milanos1987” is a star on the rise and read the weather to perfection to dance his way to the final!
• “Clangers” aka Andrew Cottman, who resigned from the corporate world to spend more time with his kids and is now making waves in the DFS world!
• “Mattylee” hopped on the ‘Cane Train and rode it all the way to grab his golden ticket to the live final!
• Zac Oldenhof aka “Zjo777” had to win a head to head playoff after tying for first and is now leading a Launceston father/son combo into the big one!
• Stephen Mann aka “Stimpy870” nearly forgot to enter the ODI qualifier but some advice from Shane Warne led him to Yuzvendra Chahal and his six wickets did the rest!
• Joshua David aka “JDJuan” admitted to making -12 last time he picked up a cricket bat but has been much better performed in the fantasy side of the game!

Looking for the best fantasy cricket games to play? There are a number of sites offering a wide range of contests so we have a rundown of the best contests to suit you.

We have been continually improving our Big Bash Cheat Sheets and are proud to unveil our latest offering. Followers of our highly popular NBA cheat sheets will recognise the format and we believe they give you an unrivalled amount of information at a glance. They are an ideal reference to help as you build your lineups in the mad rush after team announcements at the toss.

We are also extremely excited to announce the launch of our BBL Resources section! Not only do we provide cheat sheets for the upcoming three matches, but we have a range of tools such as Points Against, Game Logs and Player Scores to make your Big Bash research even easier! With market leading information on the Big Bash we are proud to add it to our NBA offering as we continue to strive for the best DFS resources in Australia!

BATSMEN

Marcus Stoinis ($25,000) continues to obliterate opposition attacks and stands out on many metrics in this match with the highest projection, ceiling and average. Of course he also brings the highest salary to boot but with his massive upside he can hit a value figure regularly and the raw points generally make him a must have in the winning lineup. The Sixers are quite miserly when it comes to allowing fantasy points but someone with Stoinis’ firepower can never be a bad play.

Peter Handscomb ($11,200) let us down again with a poor showing at the Gabba but that means his price is getting down to an extremely cheap level. His best knock for the season was against the Sixers when he bashed 70 off 35 balls so his best is clearly good enough. He must be testing the patience of DFS players – I know he is mine – so maybe we can roll the dice one more time as he might not be owned as much as he probably should be at this price.

Josh Philippe ($13,900) announced himself against the Hurricanes with a whirlwind 86 but has been dismissed cheaply in both innings since. This returns his price to an average level but expect him to remain at the top of the order and with his usual high strike rate he only needs to get to around 30 to return value at this salary. A risky proposition but one who can win you a contest if he gets going.

BOWLERS

While he has become the GOAT Test off-spinner for Australia, don’t forget Nathan Lyon ($14,500) began his career as a T20 sensation in South Australia. Lyon hasn’t been seen this season for the Sixers but averaged 70 points last season and is a class bowler on an average salary. He looks the best value option of the bowlers by far.

Sandeep Lamichhane ($14,300) didn’t get a look with the ball until it was all over against the Heat but we benefit from a cheaper salary as a result. Lamichhane’s previous form earlier in the season was most consistent and he scores in both major bowling categories. He appeals as the best of the Stars’ bowling options.

He hasn’t been used in the past couple of matches but maybe after the embarrassment at the Gabba it is time for Jackson Coleman ($9,500) to return to the side. Interestingly his last game was back on 27^th December against the Sixers where he took 3/18 off 3 overs to score 87 fantasy points. That was his only decent score in three matches this season so he brings plenty of risk, but at this price he provides a ton of upside and roster flexibility.

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