A Big Bash team of the tournament

The first season of the revamped Big Bash League competition is almost over, with the Perth Scorchers to face the Sydney Sixers in the final on Saturday night. Here are eleven players who have stolen the show during the tournament.

Herschelle Gibbs (Perth Scorchers)
The South African limited overs great who infamously "dropped the World Cup" against Steve Waugh's side more than a decade ago has some much happier memories of Australia now, partially thanks to a dominant effort at the top of the order for the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League.

He has hit a competition-high 41 fours on the way to 302 runs at a bumper average of 50.33 – and at a terrific strike rate of 152.52 runs per hundred balls. A rock at the top of the order for Perth, Gibbs hit four half-centuries in his six innings. Now almost 38, and having played his last Test match four years ago, Gibbs joined a brigade of golden oldies to excel in the shortest form of the game this summer.

Chris Gayle (Sydney Thunder)
There was always the expectation that Gayle and David Warner would terrorise opposition bowlers as an opening pair for the Sydney Thunder. They did, but Warner's Test call-up and a lack of depth in the squad all but ended the Thunder's finals chances.

While Warner smashed a match-winning century in his only Big Bash League appearance, Gayle topped the competition for sixes with 22, belting 252 runs at a strike rate of 150. His best effort was an 81-ball ton against the Adelaide Strikers, and he showed his class in the field by nonchalantly taking a screamer of a catch at gully against the Hurricanes.

Aaron Finch (Melbourne Renegades)
A renowned Twenty20 slogger who already has an international half-century to his name, Finch was a reliable plunderer of bowling attacks at the top of the order for the Etihad Stadium-based Renegades. He cleared the rope a dozen times in the tournament and raced to a couple of 50s and two more scores in the 40s. He'll take part in Australia's Twenty20 matches against India next week.

Travis Birt (Hobart Hurricanes)
The leading run-scorer in the Big Bash League (with the final yet to be played), Birt smashed 345 runs at an average of 43 and a strike rate of better than 168. He clubbed 19 sixes for the Hurricanes – more than any other player except Gayle – and rarely failed with the bat, passing the 50 mark three times.

He hasn't done much in his brief Twenty20 international career so far, scoring 13 and 1 in his only two innings, but he'll get the chance to improve on that record against the Indians next week.

Brad Hodge (Melbourne Renegades)
The unluckiest Australian batsman of recent years, Hodge again showed he is arguably the best short-form cricketer in the country with 190 runs from his five knocks at an average of 47.5.

A sparkling, match-winning unbeaten 72 against the Sydney Sixers was Hodge's best, including five fours and three sixes and coming in just his second game back from a hamstring injury.

The 37-year-old announced his retirement from one-day cricket at the conclusion of his tournament, but will continue plundering attacks as a Twenty20 specialist after being snapped up on a $140,000 contract in the Bangladesh Premier League.

Owais Shah (Hobart Hurricanes)
An English veteran with 71 ODIs to his name, Shah was a smart recruit for the Hurricanes – even if he wasn't a big-name drawcard in the Gayle or Gibbs mould.

With four unbeaten knocks, plus two fifties, Shah was the Michael Bevan of the Big Bash League – scoring 282 runs at a staggering Twenty20 average of 70.5. He wasn't a slouch at the crease either, slamming nine sixes and batting with a strike rate of 149.

Matthew Wade (Melbourne Stars)
The Big Bash League's highest-scoring genuine wicketkeeper could be on his way to higher honours, thanks to Brad Haddin's ongoing woes at Test level. He's already replaced Haddin for Australia's Twenty20 side and showed signs of his dashing best for the Stars, clubbing 145 runs at a strike rate of 147.95 and a handy lower-order average of 29. Also took five catches and a stumping during the tournament.

Rana Naved-ul-Hasan (Hobart Hurricanes)
The fourth international in this lineup, Tasmania's Pakistani recruit topped the Big Bash League wicket-count with 15, at an average of 17. He also made the most of his rare chances with the bat, slogging an unbeaten 30 off 14 in a losing effort against the Sixers in the semi-finals.

Naved even showed some uncharacteristic skill in the field for a Pakistani, taking a terrific diving catch off his own bowling against the Sydney Thunder.

James Faulkner (Melbourne Stars)
One of a couple of Tasmanians to make the switch to the Stars – along with new Australian Twenty20 captain George Bailey – Faulkner is one of the new brigade of impressive youngsters coming through the ranks. A 21-year-old medium-pace bowling allrounder, Faulkner was the leading wicket-taker for a Stars squad that featured Shane Warne, Clint McKay and absent Test stars James Pattinson and Peter Siddle.

His 13 scalps came at an average of 17.61, earning him a likely international debut after being selected in Australia's 14-man Twenty20 squad.

Brad Hogg (Perth Scorchers)
The enthusiastic 40-year-old veteran came from nowhere to force his way back into Australia's Twenty20 team, taking a dozen wickets at the superb economy rate of 5.40 an over (most bowlers concede anything between 7 and 9 an over).

With many younger batsmen seemingly unable to pick his wrong'un, the widely experienced Hogg bamboozled most opponents, taking a dozen wickets at an average of just 13.5. He is now a genuine chance of playing a part in this year's T20 World Cup at the age of 41.

Mitchell Starc (Sydney Sixers)
Australia's newest Test pacemen was lethal for the Sixers, taking 11 wickets in his five matches at an outrageous strike rate of a wicket every 9.5 balls. Starc took impressive three-wicket hauls for Sixers immediately before and after his four-wicket effort against India in the third Test in Perth. Going into the final against the Scorchers, the 196cm left-hander has the best bowling average in the competition with 12.36.