The records of BPL17
The 17th edition of the Bowls Premier League (BPL) provided yet another showcase the best of bowls to the world; putting the spotlight on the players, venue, sponsors, format, and raising the profile of the sport in general.
With that came a plethora of records and milestones for players and franchises alike.
Let’s take a look at the history that was made… Unsurprisingly, a lot involved Aron Sherriff.
Most titles by a player
There is a reason that Aron Sherriff is called Mr BPL, and he further established his status as the tournament’s greatest player with yet another title.
The Moama Steamers star became the stand alone record holder for most BPL championships after securing a fifth crown on Friday night, distancing himself from Karen Murphy and Aaron Teys who are tied on four.
As the finals commenced, all three were a chance to hold the accolade, with Murphy the first into the decider as the Sydney Lions took the point from the semi-final clash against the Steamers, but Sherriff had the last laugh by dazzling the bowling fraternity with an epic display.
MVP hextuple
Sherriff continued his stranglehold on the BPL MVP crown by taking an astonishing sixth gong in Moama with 47 out of a possible 54 votes from the 18 rounds.
The 37-year-old was in fine touch as he continued to show why he is one of the finest exponents of the tournament, dominating the event and playing a pivotal role in the Steamers steamroll, which saw them falter in just five matches from the 21 starts the franchise took part in.
Sherriff has now won three of the past four MVP awards and is the only person to have won more than two titles.
Long time between drinks
Sherriff set another record in Moama by winning his first title since BPL07, which is a remarkable ten editions between championships.
The previous record was set by Karen Murphy who went eight editions between wins from BPL06 to BPL14.
Titles at three franchises
Sherriff’s title for the Steamers marks the third franchise that he has won a BPL with, another accolade that he has achieved before any other player.
The Queenslander took home the BPL04, 05 and 06 titles for the Lions, BPL07 for the Gold Coast Hawks and now BPL17 for Moama.
Alex Marshall, Corey Wedlock, Jo Edwards and Aaron Teys have also won titles for more than one franchise on previous occasions, but none have won for more than two.
The BPL All Star
Continuing in his record breaking tournament, Sherriff became the first player to become indoctrinated in three BPL All Star teams, having now gained caps at BPL14, 15 and 17.
The 37-year-old and Rebecca Van Asch are the only two players to have received multiple caps in the infancy of the initiative, but Sherriff now stands alone as the only three-time recipient.
Maiden title
Cassandra Millerick became the 27th bowler to clinch a BPL title, with the Steamers in just her second event. The Emerging Jackaroo played a sensational role in the decider, leading expertly against Karen Murphy and setting Sherriff up beautifully.
Steamer success
The Moama Steamers joined the Lions and Tweed Heads Ospreys as the only franchises to claim three titles at the BPL, with their win on Friday joining their APL02 and BPL11 triumphs.
Besting the opposition
Ryan Bester joined the pantheon of BPL greats by becoming the seventh bowler to claim three championships.
The Canadian has been the constant amongst the Steamers trio of wins, being a member of the squad on all occasions.
His three titles and two MVP awards mark him as one of the greatest players at the tournament.
13 Grand Finals combined
Friday night’s decider was the third Grand Final meeting between the Moama Steamers and Sydney Lions, with the home side finally claiming bragging rights over their northern counterparts.
It was Moama’s seventh BPL decider and Sydney’s sixth, marking the 13th time that at least one of the two teams has booked passage the tournament’s pinnacle contest.
Sydney against Moama is the only rivalry to have met three times in a Grand Final.
Lack of tiebreaks
The Sydney Lions played a surprising lack of tie-breaks at BPL17 after taking part in a measly two throughout the competition.
Astonishingly, it took the Lions 15 rounds to play their first as the green and yellow donned franchise went down to the Steamers, before defeating the Tasmania Tridents in a tie-break in the last round before finals action.
Only two teams have played in less tie-breaks throughout a BPL, with the Brisbane Gold (now Moreton Bay) and the Tweed Heads Ospreys only taking part in one in APL01 and BPL11 respectively.
However, Brisbane only took part in 12 matches and Ospreys only played 14 compared to the Lions 20 last week, making the stat much more remarkable.
