There is one match in the Big Bash League on Monday and it comes from the Sydney Showground Stadium as the high flying Sydney Thunder take on the Brisbane Heat in what should be another excellent match in the competition.
The Thunder sit third in the table going into this match so a win here and they will be in a fantastic position to make the playoffs. The Heat are outside the playoff zone at the minute but they’ll occupy the last place if they can come out on top here.
Sydney Thunder
After a bright start to the tournament, with wins in their opening two matches, things have just stalled slightly for the Sydney Thunder with them winning just one of their last four outings. They will be quick to point out that one of those games was a no result and they lost another in a super over, so they haven’t been too far away in the ones they haven’t won. Nevertheless, they would like a win here just to get themselves back on track.
Their batting has gone a little quiet in recent times. Since that second win they have only gone past 150 once and that was the match they won, so they won’t be needing to look too hard into what they need to do to start getting over the line again. That is highlighted even more by the fact that actually their bowling has largely been in good touch all season, not least in the campaign opener when they bowled the Heat out for just 143 to win by 29 runs.
Brisbane Heat
You never truly know what you are going to get from the Brisbane Heat but the general trend is when they bat well they win, and when they don’t, well they don’t win. They have won two of their five matches to date and in both of them they have scored over 200 with the bat. In the three matches they have lost they haven’t gone past 150 and in many ways that is their issue. There is no middle ground or grinding out wins with this side.
To be fair to Brisbane, they have been a lot better with the ball this season than in previous ones, although that wasn’t going to be too difficult in fairness. If they can sort out the gears in their batting and consistently get to those 170 and 180 scores which often win matches then it wouldn’t be the biggest surprise in the world to see them go on a decent little run. You do fear for them if anything happens to Chris Lynn mind you.
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Team News
Sydney Thunder have brought Liam Bowe and Gurinder Sandhu into their squad for this match. Bowe has to be in the final 12 as part of the rules that have allowed him to be added into the squad. Chris Tremain could sit out for Sandhu.
The Brisbane Heat will be able to call upon leg spinner Mitch Swepson after he has been released by Australia to play having not been included in the Test side. He comes in for Matt Kuhnemann and is likely to replace Jack Prestwidge in the side.
Betting
I’m finding this match hard to pick a winner in. We really don’t know what we’re going to get from the Brisbane Heat until about a couple of overs into their batting innings which is less than ideal, while the Sydney Thunder have gone a little quiet in recent times and some of their big batsmen might just be tailing off their top form which isn’t exactly a good thing by any stretch of the imagination either it has to be said.
In the end I’ve gone for a bet on a side market which is the performance of Daniel Sams, the leading wicket taker in the tournament to date. His line for this match is 33.5 but given that he has only taken less than two wickets in one of his six matches he is used to covering this line. It isn’t like he has to cover it with the ball either, it would be helpful if he does, but he’s a handy batsman who has four 50s in 19 First-Class and List A innings to his name so he can give it a crack with the bat. He’ll bowl the key overs where cheap wickets come along so there is enough to think he’ll cover this line once again.
Tips
WON – Back D.Sams’ Performance – Over 33.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.87 with 888sport
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