Founded in 2011, the Big Bash League is one of the most popular T20 competitions in the game. Held every year around Christmas, BBL’s schedule coincides with the country’s international cricketing season. This makes some of the senior players skip the tournament. Nevertheless, we do have some Aussies who have been consistently participating in the event. On that note, in this article, let’s take a look at five Australian players who have scored a century in BBL.
1) David Warner (Sydney Thunder) – BBL 2011
Opposition: Melbourne Stars || Runs: 102* || Balls: 51 || Boundaries: 6 || Sixes: 6
A New South Wales born cricketer, David Warner turned up for his home franchise in 2011. A prolific run-scorer in T20’s, Warner scored the first-ever century in the rehashed version of the competition. To put into context, the southpaw has played only three BBL games in his career, and in one of these matches, he produced a century.
Talking about this game, Warner was the captain of the side, and he was batting alongside Chris Gayle. The West Indian lost his wicket early, and Warner had to take the chunk of the responsibility, chasing a target of 154. He helped the Thunders reach the target with one over to spare, as he struck an unbeaten century.
2) Aaron Finch (Melbourne Renegades) – BBL 2012 and BBL 2020
Opposition: Melbourne Stars || Runs: 111* || Balls: 65 || Boundaries: 12 || Sixes: 4
Opposition: Sydney Sixers || Runs: 109 || Balls: 68 || Boundaries: 6 || Sixes: 7
Aaron Finch does not represent Australia in Tests, and hence, he is free to take part in the Big Bash League. In fact, the current limited-overs skipper of the country, Finch is the second-highest run-scorer in the competition with 2431 runs in 76 games. He is also Australia’s highest T20I run-getter, so far, with 2346 runs in 71 matches.
While the opener’s century in 2012 was against derby rivals Melbourne Stars, in 2020, he struck a hundred against the Sixers. He was the captain of his team on both occasions, and while his first hundred came during a successful chase, the second happened when the Renegades had to set a total, which they eventually failed to defend.
3) Chris Lynn (Brisbane Heat) – BBL 2015
Opposition: Hobart Hurricanes || Runs: 101 || Balls: 51 || Boundaries: 5 || Sixes: 7
Chris Lynn is one of the most popular players who have scored a century in BBL. Arguably the most established cricketer in the league, it is with his performances in BBL that the hard-hitting opener earned a place in the national team and many contracts across the globe.
Currently, the highest run-scorer in the competition, Lynn surprisingly just has one century to his name. In this game against the Hurricanes, Brisbane was chasing a tough total of 195. Batting at No.3, Lynn tried his best with a hundred, but his team fell short by 15 runs.
4) Shane Watson (Sydney Thunder) – BBL 2019
Opposition: Brisbane Heat || Runs: 100 || Balls: 62 || Boundaries: 8 || Sixes: 6
Shane Watson has also played very few games in BBL. In all, the all-rounder has accumulated just 41 appearances in his country’s premier T20 league. Yet, the cricketer has a century to his name.
This game occurred recently, around the time when Shane Watson was done with his international career. Opening the batting, Watto made a beautiful 100 and helped his side post a total of 186. However, the game ended with no result due to rain interruption.
5) Marcus Stoinis (Melbourne Stars) – BBL 2020
Opposition: Sydney Sixers || Runs: 147* || Balls: 79 || Boundaries: 13 || Sixes: 8
The highest individual score in the competition, Marcus Stoinis’ knock of 147* from 79 is one for the ages. The fifth top run-getter in BBL, the all-rounder’s insane knock happened when he was opening the batting. Although it was a double century partnership with his opening partner, Stoinis allowed him to score just 59 runs.
Comprising 13 boundaries and eight sixes, Stoinis was in fluent touch on that day. This knock also helped him open the floodgates to other T20 leagues in the globe. Hence, he also happens to be one of the players who have scored a century in BBL.
