As is now tradition in the Big Bash League, the Adelaide Oval hosts the New Year’s Eve clash which this year sees the Adelaide Strikers look to continue their unbeaten start to the campaign when they host the Sydney Thunder.
The Strikers have won all three of their completed matches this term while the Sydney Thunder are yet to be beaten inside the original 40 over distance of any game they have played so these are two form teams who will go at it.
Adelaide Strikers
The Adelaide Strikers sit on top of the table and will go into the New Year with a three point lead at the summit should they come out in front in this one. The only match they haven’t won was the reverse meeting with the Sydney Thunder when the smoke came in early doors and if we are being honest saved the Strikers from defeat, although the way we have seen Adelaide fight back in their matches, there might not have been a guarantee they would have lost.
It has largely been their bowlers that have delivered the goods for the Strikers so far this season, but that is not to say that their batting hasn’t been useful, it has, but when they have defended scores in the way they have their bowling needs to get a lot of the credit. They do look like a side that has more to come as well so the Strikers are certainly not in a bad place heading towards the turn of the year and the halfway mark in the competition.
Sydney Thunder
The Sydney Thunder have played four matches in their season and sit with two wins but it wouldn’t have taken a huge amount more for them to have had four victories. In the two games they haven’t won they only needed four balls to be bowled in one of them and lost the other on a super over so the Thunder Nation could be forgiven for thinking that they haven’t got out of their campaign what they have deserved to date.
The Thunder have looked very solid with the bat this term, and are clearly benefitting from having a couple of international players opening the batting for them. That has allowed them to find some depth with the bat and that, combined with the plethora of bowling options available to Callum Ferguson, has made them a tough nut to crack. If there is a criticism of them then it comes in them being able to handle pressure a little better.
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Team News
Harry Conway has recovered from the illness which kept him out of the win against the Melbourne Renegades last time out. He comes into the squad for Liam O’Connor but it would be a surprise if he is included in the starting XI.
Brendan Doggett was included in the squad to face the Sydney Sixers last time out but wasn’t picked in the side. He remains in the 13 men heading to Adelaide but it would be a surprise if the Thunder choose to make a change to their side.
Betting
There has only been one match on this ground this season and there were 15 sixes in that and I’m expecting at least a dozen here to cover the 11.5 line. I would rather be on that because these are two decent sides and I can see this one going down to the last over so rather than fret on who holds their nerve under pressure, I’m happier looking to the side markets to get stuck into the final game of 2019.
Both these sides have players who can hit a long ball but it is the short square boundaries which tempt me into this bet. We saw in that match between the Adelaide Strikers and the Perth Scorchers just how accessible those boundaries are. Usually we see both teams involved in the NYE match putting on a real show in front of a huge crowd and I expect that to happen here. As such I think we’ll get to a dozen sixes.
Tips
WON – Back Over 11.5 sixes for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Coral
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