Best playing 11 of BBL 2023-24 ft. Matthew Short, Xavier Bartlett
The 13th edition of the Big Bash League (BBL) is now in the history books. The summit clash, which was played between the Sydney Sixers and Brisbane Heat, saw the latter clinch the encounter and lift their second BBL title.
After being put to bat first on a tricky Sydney surface, the Brisbane unit put up a challenging first-innings total of 166/8. Despite Sean Abbott taking a four-wicket haul, Josh Brown top-scored for his side with a brilliant 53.
In response, the Brisbane bowlers completely ran through the Sixers' batting line-up. Barring Matthew Kunhemann, all the Brisbane bowlers took at least one wicket, with Spencer Johnson taking a superb 4/26.
As a result, the Sixers were bundled out for just 112 in front of their home crowd and lost the final by 54 runs.
The final wrapped up what was a terrific 2023/24 season of the BBL. The tournament saw nerve-racking moments and nail-biting clashes throughout the campaign. A few standout performances will also linger on in people's minds while there were runs and wickets galore all the way through.
On that note, let's take a look at our best playing XI from the recently concluded Big Bash League, which was played between December 7 and January 24.
Openers: Matthew Short and Josh Brown
Matthew Short broke all the run-scoring charts in this edition. Donning the captain's role for the Adelaide Strikers, the right-hander plummeted 541 runs at an average of 60.11 and a strike rate of 153.26.
Short's consistency was unreal in the tournament as he registered just one single-digit score across the 11 innings he played. Hammering six fifties, Short was also the player with the most fours (44) and sixes (25) in the league.
Opening up with Short in this fantasy side is the latest BBL winner Josh Brown. The bulky opener completely wreaked havoc when his side needed him the most.
Brown tore the Adelaide Strikers' bowling lineup apart in a must-win Challenger clash. Brown smashed 12 sixes in that innings, which saw him make 140 runs in just 57 balls.
Even in the final, Brown racked up another half-century which made a huge impact in the game. The 30-year-old ended up as the second-highest run-getter of the tournament with 366 runs at a strike rate of above 150.
Middle-order: Ben McDermott (wk), Chris Lynn, Aaron Hardie, Laurie Evans
This best XI will see a spectacle of aggressive top-order and middle-order batters. This includes the likes of Ben McDermott, Chris Lynn, Aaron Hardie and Laurie Evans.
Ben McDermott had a blasting BBL 2021/22, where he hammered 577 runs. While he didn't manage to achieve those heights this season, he was the wicketkeeper with the most runs in BBL 2023/24. The Hobart Hurricanes' player amassed 261 runs at an average of 43.50 and at a strike rate of 135.93, with a best score of 95*.
At No. 4 is an experienced campaigner in Chris Lynn. The swashbuckling right-hander played an integral role for the Adelaide Strikers this season as he accumulated 304 runs.
Lynn's immaculate average of 60.80 was also the best in the entire tournament. He crossed the 25-run mark six out of seven times he batted.
Unfortunately for the Strikers, Lynn had to sit out the last few games due to an injury.
Following Lynn are two Perth Scorchers boys in Aaron Hardie and Laurie Evans. The two star lads hammered over 55 percent of their franchise's runs in this edition's BBL. While Hardie also skippered the Scorchers for the majority of the season, Evans donned the finisher's role beautifully.
Playing as a genuine seam-bowling all-rounder, Hardie scored 334 runs at an average of 37.11. He even took six wickets at a frugal economy rate of 6.9. Evans, meanwhile, played a blinder of an innings in Match 25 against the Strikers as he pummeled 85* runs off a mere 28 balls.
Batting seven times across the league, Evans made 292 runs at a stupendous average and strike rate of 58.40 and 189.61, respectively. It was a shame that he had to leave for the ILT20 at the business end of the tournament.
Lower-order: Michael Neser, Paul Walter
You are going to see quite a lot of Brisbane Heat players from the all-rounder and bowling section. Here are two of those in Michael Neser and Paul Walter.
Both players operated in different phases of an innings. While Neser used his abilities to swing the ball up front, Walter used his height to great effect and double-bluffed the batters quite often.
While Neser bowled a tight two-over spell in the final, his outstanding fielding efforts grabbed the headlines when he outlandishly teamed up with Walter to execute a boundary line catch. With the ball, Neser took 12 wickets at a great economy rate of 7.51.
The 33-year-old also scored a fifty for the Heat this season when he hammered 64* off 30 against Perth Scorchers.
Meanwhile, Paul Walter, nicknamed 'Tall Paul', made his maiden BBL tournament quite memorable. The 29-year-old Englishman mustered 17 wickets at a superb strike rate of 12.00 across 11 outings.
His variations at the death and during the power surge overs made a huge impact for the Heat.
Bowlers: Xavier Bartlett, Ben Dwarshuis and Spencer Johnson
The three frontline bowlers of this imaginary team would be Xavier Bartlett, Ben Dwarshuis and Spencer Johnson.
Bartlett and Johnson finished the BBL 2023/24 season as the top two highest wicket-takers. The Brisbane Heat duo ransacked the opposition batting line-ups quite a few times and were simply sensational for their franchise.
Bartlett, 25, took at least one wicket in each of the 11 innings he bowled and garnered 20 wickets at a strike rate of just above 11. Due to his impressive performances throughout the campaign, he even earned his maiden call-up to the Australian ODI setup.
Johnson, meanwhile, has had a terrific last two months. He was picked up by the Gujarat Titans for a huge sum of ₹10 crores at the IPL 2024 mini-auction. In the BBL, he delivered 19 wickets at an average of 14.47, the best bowling average for a bowler with 15 or more wickets.
Johnson even took a brilliant 4/26 in the summit clash on Wednesday, January 24.
The final person on this list is Sydney Sixers' Ben Dwarshuis. The left-arm pacer's hit-the-deck deliveries troubled the opposition batters quite a lot during the campaign and the Australian international took 17 scalps. His figures of 5/21 were also the best in the entire competition.
Best XI of BBL 2023/24:
Matthew Short (C), Josh Brown, Ben McDermott, Chris Lynn, Aaron Hardie, Laurie Evans, Michael Neser, Paul Walter, Xavier Bartlett, Ben Dwarshuis, Spencer Johnson.