We are now officially past the halfway point of the Big Bash League. With just 12 games left before the finals, it’s about time we start looking at who is likely to win in all.

Here is a summary of each team’s performance thus far, as well as lining up their chances.

We will also look at whom each team will lose or regain as the ODI series begins and the Test series wraps up.

More cricket
» Steve Smith’s Border-esque rebuild (new longform!)
» SPIRO: The case of the porn-watching reporter at the MCG
» West Indies done and dusted but Kiwis loom large
» Glenn Maxwell among the runs but still battling with the ball
» Steve Smith has shocked us all
» Packed MCG reaffirms T20 hysteria

Adelaide Strikers
Despite not much build up in the pre-season, the Strikers have compiled a fairly awesome squad and find themselves top of the table with four wins and just a single loss to their name.

Their chances of competing for the title were always going to come down to how domestic young-guns Travis Head and Alex Ross performed in the middle order and boy have they done that!

Batting at number six, Ross has proved to be a calming influence for the Strikers, winning the match off his own bat in the season opener with a 68 against the Stars. Head has excelled in the past two matches with scores of 51* and 101* on his home deck at Adelaide Oval.

International recruit Mahela Jayawardene is finally finding his feet on Australian soil after a slow start and fellow international Adil Rashid has been extraordinary, taking 10 wickets @14.40.

As the ODI players leave to join the Australian squad on the eighth of January, the Strikers will only be affected by the absence of Kane Richardson. This is not ideal, yet they still have proven death bowler Gary Putland sitting in their squad waiting for an opportunity.

With three more matches to go against the Heat, Renegades and Hurricanes, the Strikers find themselves nicely poised to host a second straight home semi-final. With a largely uninterrupted team and extremely solid bowling and batting line-ups the Strikers must be considered a huge chance to take home the title.

Brisbane Heat
The Heat have been nothing short of diabolical In BBL05 with just one win coming from their five outings. Despite somehow being mathematically possible, the Heat will not be making an appearance in the semi-finals and will not get the opportunity to win their second Big Bash title.

It’s been a one-man show at Brisbane with skipper Chris Lynn scoring a whopping 287 runs @71 with scores of 75, 101 and 75*. However his efforts have gone with put much reward, with a lack of support from the other Heat batsmen.

Hobart Hurricanes
The Hurricanes are a interesting side to say the least as they sit fourth with a record of 3-2 going into Round 6. Their two losses have been the two most overall embarrassing performances of the Big Bash, the first seeing them bowled out for just 91 and in their latest outing they scored just 20 runs in the power play on their home deck.

These performances have resulted in the Hurricanes holding the worst Net Run Rate in the competition (-1.057).

The large disparity between their best and worst performances is certainly a concern, yet their best proves they can defeat any other side in the completion with ease. The Hurricanes have one of the better squads on paper with a strong batting line-up consisting of Ben Dunk, Tim Paine, Kumar Sangakkara, George Bailey, Dan Christian and John Wells.

Last year wicket-keepers Paine and Dunk put on a number of explosive opening stand partnerships which often got them across the line, yet this hasn’t been the case in BBL05 with four of five opening stands producing just 20 runs. If they can produce a couple of half-century opening stands in the coming matches, it will ease the pressure on Sangakkara and Christian. This will allow them to play a more free-flowing innings late in the innings.

The Hurricanes are a legitimate chance to win their maiden BBL05 title, yet first they must win at least two of their remaining three games against the Stars, Strikers and Scorchers. This is certainly not going to be easy with gun batsmen Bailey departing for ODI duties.

Melbourne Renegades
The Renegades are currently in fifth position with a win-loss record of 3-2.

The explosive opening partnership of Chris Gayle and Aaron Finch has seen two massive opening stands of 80+, yet also two under 20. This is to be expected when you have two genuine sloggers at the crease.

Cameron White has been a handy addition after departing cross-town rivals the Melbourne Stars, with 139 runs @34.75 which includes two half-centuries.

It would be fair to say the Renegades bowling unit as a whole has been quite poor, taking just 20 wickets in total over four games (second worst in the completion).

Not a single Renegades bowler has an economy rate under 7.50 and furthermore not one bowler has an average of under 29, which is concern. The Renegades have clearly focused more on their batting credentials and I’d say if they had their time again they would be hunting for a gun bowler to lead the attack.

The Renegades lose skipper Aaron Finch and wicketkeeper Matthew Wade to Australia, yet should regain Test stars Peter Nevill and James Pattinson. They will need three wins to guarantee a finals spot, but with matches to come against the Stars, Strikers and Thunder this seems highly unlikely.

Missing out on the top four will be a huge disappointment considering how strong the batting line-up has been this summer with West Indians Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo being the headline acts.

Melbourne Stars
After losing their first two matches of the season, the Stars are right back on track in BBL05 with respective wins against the Melbourne Renegades and Sydney Sixers.

No single batsmen has stood out for the entirety of the completion with the likes of Kevin Pietersen, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Peter Handscomb all having notched up half-centuries, as well as Luke Wright whom went one step further in the Melbourne Derby, scoring a match winning 109*. With a strong batting line-up it’s hard to keep every single batsmen down each game, which is what has made the Stars highly successful in recent seasons.

John Hastings has once again been the standout bowler for the Stars, taking 7 wickets in his three games at an average of just 14.42. Hastings isn’t your economical bowler, as can be seen from his economy rate of 8.82, yet he has the ability the jag wickets at crucial stages.

As has been the case for the past five years it seems, the Stars will once again lose the likes of James Faulkner, Glenn Maxwell and soon to be capped Scott Boland to the national side.

The Stars still have some fairly component talent in their squad with the likes of Evan Gulbis, Tom Triffit and Ben Hilfenhaus likely to fill the void. With matches to come against the Hurricanes, Renegades, Scorchers and Heat, the Stars should get the chance to play off in their fifth consecutive semi-final.

The question remains; can they make it one step further in BBL05 or will they choke?

Perth Scorchers
The two-time Big Bash League Champions are once again right in the hunt to win the title. They sit in second position with a record of 3-2 going into Round 6.

Strangely enough, their two losses have both came against the Adelaide Strikers.

The Scorchers have compiled the best bowling line-up in the league, headlined by the likes of Jason Behrendorff, Andrew Tye, Joel Paris, David Willey and of course Brad Hogg. The Perth attack have been the most economical in comparisons to the whole competition, with five bowlers going for less than 7.50 an over on average.

The concern for the back to back champions remains in the batting department, which on paper appears to be extremely thin. The middle-order likes of Ashton Agar, Marcus Harris, Cameron Bancroft and Ashton Turner remain inexperienced in the T20 arena and it is hard to see them leading the Scorchers to another title.

It may just be time to recall international recruit Michael Carberry after he was dropped after just three games. A steady old head alongside skipper Adam Voges and Michael Klinger may just be what the Scorchers need.

The Scorchers will wave goodbye to young paceman Joel Paris and gun opening batsmen Shaun Marsh, yet the will regain much loved skipper Adam Voges. With consecutive away matches to come against the Thunder and Hurricanes it’s going to be extremely hard for the Scorchers to notch up the wins required to book in a home final.

It’s going to come down to the Scorchers versus Thunder match in my opinion, with the winner earning themselves a home semi-final.

Sydney Sixers
Along with the Brisbane Heat, the Sixers are the only other side who can officially pack their bags and wave goodbye to the Big Bash League until next season comes around. Having played six games the Sixers sit in seventh position with just two wins to their name, making it all but officially impossible for them to sneak into the top four.

Injuries to Moises Henriques and Brad Haddin have summed up the Sixers’ BBL campaign with nothing going right for the magenta men. Nic Maddinson continues to disappoint in the shorter format of the game, having scored just 75 runs @11.83 at the top of the order.

High-profile domestic recruit Jackson Bird has also been a disappointment for the Sixers, taking just two wickets in six games at an average of 74. In arguably the only shining light for the Sixers Michael Lumb has been solid at the top of the order with 194 runs @32.

The Sixers won’t lose anyone to ODI duties, but they will regain off-spinners Nathan Lyon and Steve O’Keefe as they return from the Test squad.

Sydney Thunder
After being the laughing stock of the Big Bash League for the past four years, the Sydney Thunder finally look set to make their maiden finals appearance after compiling an extremely strong squad and sitting at 3-2 after five games.

The recruiting has been extraordinary from those involved at the Thunder, with three big-gun all-rounders in Andre Russell, Jacques Kallis and Shane Watson joining Mike Hussey at Spotless Stadium.

Mr Cricket has lead the way with the bat scoring 223 runs @74.83, which includes three half-centuries at the ripe old age of 40. Recently retired Test star Shane Watson has largely been disappointing for the Thunder with four scores under 20 (averaging just 15), yet his economical form with the ball means he is still a huge weapon as they charge towards finals.

Veteran Clint McKay has been outstanding with the ball, taking nine wickets @13.88 as he continues to deceive opposition batsmen with his notorious slower ball.

Luckily for the Thunder they will not be losing a single player to ODI duties and may even regain the services of Usman Khawaja after scoring a whopping 109* in his soul BBL05 hit out.

With matches to come against the Scorchers, Sixers and Renegades all in Sydney, the Thunder are a huge chance to finish top two and claim a home-semi final.

It’s not out of the realms of possibility that they could play their next five games (including the final) in Sydney and win the title. Get on board the Thunder, who in my eyes are the favourites to take out the title.

Predicted BBL05 ladder
1. Adelaide Strikers
2. Sydney Thunder
3. Perth Scorches
4. Melbourne Stars
5. Hobart Hurricanes
6. Melbourne Renegades
7. Sydney Sixers
8. Brisbane heat

Winner: Sydney Thunder