The Adelaide Strikers will be the last team to get their Big Bash League challenge underway. The BBL07 winners disappointed in their title defence last season when some big players couldn’t find the form of the previous campaign. Their task will to be at their best and allow the team to get back to the displays which saw them win this title in fine style. There are question marks over whether they are strong as a whole but with some exciting personnel on show it is likely to be an interesting season for the Strikers.
Stats
Last Season: 6th
Captain: Travis Head
Overseas Players: Phil Salt & Rashid Khan
Key Player: Alex Carey
Best Odds: 6/1 General
Predicted Finishing Position: 7th
Fixtures
Saturday December 21 – Sydney Thunder (a)
Monday December 23 – Perth Scorchers (h)
Friday December 27 – Melbourne Stars (a)
Sunday December 29 – Melbourne Renegades (a)
Tuesday December 31 – Sydney Thunder (h)
Sunday January 1 – Sydney Sixers (a)
Wednesday January 8 – Sydney Sixers (h)
Sunday January 12 – Melbourne Renegades (h)
Tuesday January 14 – Brisbane Heat (a)
Friday January 17 – Brisbane Heat (h)
Sunday January 19 – Hobart Hurricanes (a)
Wednesday January 22 – Melbourne Stars (h)
Friday January 24 – Perth Scorchers (a)
Sunday January 26 – Hobart Hurricanes (h)
Squad
Travis Head (c), Wes Agar, Alex Carey (wk), Harry Conway, Rashid Khan, Jake Lehmann, Michael Neser, Harry Nielsen (wk), Liam O’Connor, Phil Salt, Matt Short, Peter Siddle, Billy Stanlake, Cameron Valente, Jake Weatherald, Jon Wells, Cameron White, Nick Winter
Preview
Adelaide Strikers have been one of the better teams in the league over the last three seasons or so but a lack of batting depth and quality caught them out last season, therefore the addition of the experienced Cameron White is a good one, while Phil Salt is an exciting opening batsman who can alleviate some of the loss of when Alex Carey disappears on international duty. All of a sudden the Strikers look to have a batting side to be envied.
The success or otherwise of the Strikers might actually come down to how well they bowl. In that regard the appearance of Rashid Khan for the entire season is a massive help but with peter Siddle and Michael Neser in and around the Australia setup there is a possibility they could struggle a little in that regard. They certainly wouldn’t want to pick up many injuries with the ball. Ultimately the potential to be exposed with the ball makes me think the Strikers might be watching on when the playoffs come round once again.
Betting
When it comes to the bowling odds for the Adelaide Strikers’ season it is all about Rashid Khan, and while I think teams will look to see him out, the dry nature of the wickets that we are seeing in this competition is going to make that quite difficult to do. I’m already on Billy Stanlake to take the most wickets in the tournament as a tentative bet and that can act as the interest that I need in the Adelaide bowling department.
It is the batting that gets my attention with that in mind and one of the reasons for that is one of the main players in it, Alex Carey, is going to miss a week or two of the competition when the ODIs come around while Travis Head will come back from time to time to mess up the chances of someone else. That means it could be a straight three horse race between Jake Weatherald, Phil Salt and Cameron White and I like the Englishman. I am already on him outright but the Adelaide Oval sets up to his game perfectly. We’ve seen Tom Banton emerge on the scene already in this tournament and Salt can do likewise here. He’s my bet at 10/3.
Tips
Back P.Salt Top Adelaide Strikers Season Batsman for a 2/10 stake at 4.33 with Betway
Back him here:
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