If the recent T20 series between Australia and India highlighted anything, it’s that death bowling is one of the toughest skills to execute, even for those with burgeoning reputations from the Big Bash League.

Death bowling specialists like Daniel Sams and Andrew Tye, who both represented Australia against India, along with Ben Laughlin and Kane Richardson, who've previously represented their country, will continue to strut their stuff throughout the BBL season.

Bowling to an in-form, aggressive and confident Hardik Pandya or Virat Kohli is a pretty tough ask. There’s a heap of quality in the BBL, but it’s fair to say the quality won’t be as high as the T20Is.

Naturally, Sams and Tye found the going tough against India, although they weren’t alone. Sixers trio Sean Abbott,  Mitch Starc and Moises Henriques were used in the final six overs but went for plenty, as did Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa.

Australia captains Aaron Finch and Matthew Wade had a clear preference for using medium-fast bowlers at the death, with an emphasis on a change of pace. Across the three games in the final six overs, Melbourne Stars leggie Zampa only bowled four overs, and never later than the 18^th over. 

Impressive tweaker Mitch Swepson wasn’t used once in the final six overs of any of the three T20Is.

BBL captains may however approach this differently. 

We know for instance that Stars captain Glenn Maxwell likes to use Zampa in the power play and at the death which is precisely how he's been deployed in Melbourne's two-game unbeaten start, conceding just 34 runs from his 8 overs, while collecting a couple of wickets- both of which came in the death overs.

Death bowling is primarily the final three-four overs, but run chases and the mindset of the batsmen generally escalate with 36 balls to go, so let’s define it in this instance as the final six overs.

So what did the T20Is tell us about the BBL’s best death bowlers?

Andrew Tye

The Scorchers gun bowled five death overs in the two T20Is he played, taking 1-53 with 11 dot balls (the most of all Aussies). He managed a dot ball with the first delivery of all three death overs in the third T20I. He bowled the tough penultimate over twice, conceding on average 10 runs in the 19^th which is commendable. Sure he copped a few boundaries, but his ability to get dots at the death is testament to his standing in the game. 

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Daniel Sams

The Thunder clutch bowler suffered some reputational damage from the last two T20Is where he bowled three death overs, including the final over in the second game, where India won with two balls to spare. Sams took 1-43 from 2.4 overs at the death, with an economy rate of 16.16, managing just four dot balls. Meanwhile six of Sams' 16 death over deliveries went for either a six or four which, needless to say is a massive problem. The jury is still out on whether he is of a truly international standard.

Adam Zampa

As mentioned, the Stars spinner never bowled later than the 18^th over but was exceptional across his four overs, taking a tidy 1-31 with six dot balls and an economy rate of 7.75. The Wollongong-raised star went for just three boundaries from his 24 deliveries which is a big reason why he's already racked up 36 games for his country at international level. 

Mitchell Starc

The Sixers speedster won’t be available to play BBL until later in the tournament, but it is worth noting that in his two death overs in the first T20I, he went for 3 boundaries in his two overs and still averaged 11.5 from his two death overs which was ranked fourth among the Aussies.

Which delivery in a death over is more likely to see a wicket?

In ascertaining this data, another interesting trend to emerge from the T20I series was the frequency of wickets falling on the first ball of a death over. 

Across the 18 overs India faced in the final six of all three matches, Australia took 3-27 from the first ball of an over. No other delivery in an over recorded more than one wicket.

Likewise, across the 18 overs India bowled in the final six of all three matches, the tourists took 2-22. This is less significant relatively, but does provide further support when gleaned in light of Australia’s frequency of taking wickets with the first ball of a death over.

Combining both teams, the first ball of a death over saw a wicket fall five times which was significantly more than every other delivery.

On the same token, the fourth and fifth deliveries of a death over saw the most runs scored.

Which death overs are the most expensive and which are most stringent?

Finally it would come as no surprise that the 20^th over was the most expensive over across the board, but it also landed the equal most wickets, as batsmen took increased risks. This is exactly why BBL death bowlers tend to go for more runs, yet take more wickets.

With the teams combined, the 19^th and 20^th overs saw four wickets fall each, which was the most of any of the six death overs. Three wickets fell in both the 17^th and 18^th overs too, while only one fell in the 15^th and 16^th.

For Australia’s bowlers specifically, the 19^th over was the most expensive (although the 20^th over in the second T20I only had four balls), while, weirdly, the 16^th over was lowest in terms of dot balls, with only two. Perhaps that was India rotating the strike, but it was quite the outlier, with the next worst being four from the always expensive 20^th over.

Final thoughts

Things can get a little crazy over the last few overs a T20 match as batting teams look to make the most of their innings, or as they look to reel in their target. Likewise, bowling units need to be cautious at the death, making sure they aren't blown out of the park, and with it their team's chances of victory. This season's Big Bash league will once again highlight the importance just what goes down in the final overs of an innings, and with potential World Cup spots on the line, performing well at the death just might earn a player his ticket to India.

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