Tye heads latest BBL Rankings update

There’s a new number one allrounder at the top of the EXTRA Official BBL Player Ranking charts, with Perth Scorchers star AJ Tye reaping the benefits of brilliant recent form with the ball and - more surprisingly - the bat.

Tye has been enjoying another strong season as one of the competition's most dangerous bowlers and last week became just the second player in KFC Big Bash history to take a hat-trick when he snared 4-22 at the Gabba.

Then, last Saturday, he saved the Scorchers from disaster with an outstanding 42 from just 33 balls – helping Perth from a perilous 4-13 to a far more respectable 7-134.

VIEW: The latest BBL|06 EXTRA Official Player Rankings

It was Tye’s highest ever BBL score, and a standout performance in the context of the match, earning him a major rankings boost.

Those efforts were enough for the 30-year-old to leap a remarkable 20 places up the allrounder charts into first position.

It’s a major move for Tye, but Bond University Professor Steven Stern, who devised the rankings system, explained that in a season in which no allrounder has consistently dominated the rankings, the tussle for top spot remained an extremely close contest.

Thunder star Andre Russell started BBL|06 in the No.1 position after an outstanding season for the reigning champions last summer, but he struggled in the early stages of the tournament before suffering a severe hamstring tear.

"This year's crop of allrounders is pretty thin on the ground, really,” Stern explained. 

"We've got yet another new leader in Andrew Tye, whose most recent performance with the ball (0-37 off four against the Stars) hurt him in the bowling standings a bit but his recent batting has offset that and shot him to the top of the allrounder list. 

"Still, at this stage it is anyone's guess who'll be on top once the finals are played."

As previously explained by Stern, the quick-fire nature of the T20 format often results in matches decided by small, yet significant, contributions.

As a result, this adds to the likelihood of tail-end batsmen or part-time bowlers playing a decisive role in a match, thus increasing their aggregate in the Rankings system.

Therefore, all players are considered as potential allrounders, with the algorithm then refining the list by rewarding players performing well in both disciplines.

"If you look at the allrounder list, you might not consider some of those players to be allrounders, but those players happen to currently be providing positive contributions in both disciplines,” Stern explained.

"To limit the allrounder Ranking exclusively to players who already have that 'allrounder' tag is somewhat arbitrary, because who decides whether a guy is good enough – or not good enough – in both skills to be judged in that way?

"And that's the whole point of these Rankings – they're objective and performance-based.”

There has been no change to the leaders in the batting and bowling charts, with Brisbane Heat duo Chris Lynn and Samuel Badree maintaining their positions.

Lynn’s massive lead at the top of the batting rankings means he is unlikely to be displaced despite being ruled out of the rest of the tournament due to a neck injury, while Badree will have a chance to defend his more marginal lead in the bowling rankings when he returns from a hamstring injury in the Heat's final regular season fixture, at home to the Renegades on Friday night.