The Big Bash League action comes thick and fast at the minute and it continues with a double header on Saturday, a pair of matches which get underway in the capital as the Sydney Thunder host the Adelaide Strikers in Canberra.
The Thunder will be looking to continue their impressive start to the campaign after winning their opening two matches while the Strikers get their season up and running here on the fifth day of competition in the tournament.
Sydney Thunder
In many ways the two matches the Sydney Thunder have played so far this season have been a mirror image of each other. They have won both comfortably putting up 170 on both occasions. There is a case to be made that they could have bowled better against the Melbourne Renegades but as it turned out they restricted them to a total that was gettable and you can’t really ask much more than that.
The really encouraging thing has been how they have gone with the bat. With the way their seasons go it could easily have gone the other way, but now that they have built up a bit of initial confidence, they could be in for another strong season. They are batting deep and have plenty of options with the ball, including a wide range of spin choices, which it is becoming ever more apparent are what is needed. The Thunder went into the season as a sleeper but they are rapidly emerging better than that.
Adelaide Strikers
We can’t really pass judgement on the Adelaide Strikers just yet because we haven’t seen them in action. What we can say is that they look to have addressed their issues of last term and look a much stronger outfit on this occasion. The proof will be in the pudding but on paper at least, they look like they are going to put up much bigger scores with their top four looking solid. If they post scores they could be a tough nut to crack.
They might have a few issues with the ball as the season goes along, especially if Australia keep calling up Peter Siddle. They are probably a top class bowler short of a decent attack which is a concern so it will be interesting to see how Alex Carey goes about juggling the attack around in the early stages of the competition. They will be tested in that department here because the Thunder look bang on it with the bat.
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Team News
Chris Morris has finally arrived in Sydney to begin his stint as overseas player and he is likely to come into the team, potentially in place of Nathan McAndrew who hasn’t really had the impact that the South African may well do.
Adelaide Strikers could hand out three debuts with Phil Salt, Cameron White and Harry Conway all potentially wearing the blue for the first time. Peter Siddle is available despite being in the squad for the Boxing Day Test match but Travis Head hasn’t been released.
Betting
There is some doubt as to whether this match will go ahead at the time of writing, with the air quality in the Canberra area not the best but if it is played then that should only suit the batsmen as the last thing the bowlers need to be doing is coughing up poor air quality when steaming in, indeed it will have a big impact on their performance so with that in mind I’m expecting a lot of runs on what is usually a decent batting track at the best of times anyway.
We’ve already seen the Thunder take two decent enough bowling attacks apart with the bat, with Khawaja, Hales and Callum Ferguson all in decent touch. The Strikers look laded with the bat with their top scorer last season in Jono Wells coming in at five or six and there isn’t a huge amount in either bowling attack that is going to scare the opposition here. The boundaries are accessible here and the outfield should be firm and fast and so over 331.5 runs looks the way to go here.
Tips
VOID – Back Over 331.5 runs for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Betway
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