The Australian Test stars are beginning to enter the Big Bash League now and we will see a couple of them in action when the competition continues on Thursday as the Brisbane Heat host the Hobart Hurricanes at the Gabba.
These two sides are locked on six points but are firmly in the mix for the race for the playoffs. Two teams look like they have shot clear so it looks like three from five for the other spots which makes this one an important match.
Brisbane Heat
The Brisbane Heat will take a fair amount of confidence into this match with them after absolutely obliterating the Sydney Thunder in what became a bit of a farce of a contest last time out. When the Heat have things on their terms with the bat they are a tough nut to crack. What they have to ensure is that they have those kind of outings enough to get themselves into the playoffs over the second half of the campaign.
If they can maintain an intensity and a purpose with the bat throughout their innings the Heat are in a really good shape because they have actually bowled pretty well in the main, and have a Test bowler coming back later in the tournament as well. Someone is going to burst out of the pack in this race for third place so there is no reason why it can’t be Brisbane, as long as they are prepared to use their brains.
Hobart Hurricanes
The Hobart Hurricanes go into this match off the back of a good win over the Perth Scorchers, in a win which was actually a lot more comfortable than the end scoreboard suggested. The problem they are beginning to have though is injuries are starting to bite this Hurricanes side and they are hitting them hard and to key men, and you wonder how long they will be able to continue to play at this level for as a result.
So far this term the Hurricanes batting has been either hit or miss and now that they are getting these injuries to key bowlers, they are going to need that to become hit a lot more than they did before. They have bowled well in the main but their attack is going to be tested to the full from here on in, with potentially their two most important bowlers unavailable to them for the remainder of the campaign.
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Team News
Brisbane Heat have Joe Burns back in their ranks now and he is straight back into their as well. He comes in for Cameron Gannon in what is an otherwise unchanged squad as James Pattinson is being rested for one more match.
Hobart Hurricanes are missing a wealth of talent. James Faulkner was already injured and now Riley Meredith is out for the tournament with the problem he sustained against the Scorchers. D’Arcy Short has left for Australia duty but Matthew Wade has returned to take his spot and resume the captaincy. David Miller was a doubt but he has been named in the squad.
Betting
I’m expecting to see a lot of big hitting in this match. These are probably the two biggest hitting teams in the tournament and even though D’Arcy Short has gone off with Australia, Matthew Wade can still clear the ropes, especially on this Gabba ground which has a dream wicket for batting and small boundaries in the key areas that players look to hit into these days. These two have already played out one high scoring match and I don’t see a lot changing here.
There were 15 sixes in that match despite an innings where two Brisbane men combined for 21 fours between them. That isn’t going to happen on this ground because it is too small for that. Brisbane have made it clear they are only going to bat one way and with no huge strike threat in the Hobart side that isn’t going to change. Hobart are going to have to bring fireworks of their own to the party here to stay close so I’m expecting comfortably more than 12.5 sixes here.
Tips
Back Over 12.5 sixes for a 5/10 stake at 1.85 with BetVictor
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