We have a double header of action in the Big Bash League to enjoy on Saturday and it begins at the Adelaide Oval where the Adelaide Strikers will look to enhance their top five ambitions when they host the Brisbane Heat.
The Heat begin the match bottom of the table and the opportunity to visit the last chance saloon is now upon them. They must win this match to keep their season alive while Adelaide will move clear in third place if they come out on top.
Adelaide Strikers
This hasn’t been a particularly consistent season for the Adelaide Strikers, although to be fair with the exception of the Perth Scorchers you could say that about every team this season. They have five wins and five defeats on their record. The only consistency they have shown is that when they are good they are very good and hard to beat but when they are not good they are incredibly poor and quite easy to roll over.
Generally the Strikers bat well at home and that is the discipline they need to perform well in. I think it was a given that when Rashid Khan left their bowling was going to struggle but actually that happened before then because Peter Siddle got injured. The positive for them is they have their two Test stars Alex Carey and Travis Head back for this match so there is absolutely no excuse for the batting even allowing for Chris Lynn departing the scene soon.
Brisbane Heat
The Brisbane Heat have already had their Test stars back for a game but it didn’t make much difference because they were well beaten by the Perth Scorchers last time out. They never got anything going with the bat outside of the powerplay and in the end fell to a tame defeat which has left them on five points after nine matches. They have five games left and with 13 points not being enough to make it through to the finals the equation for the Heat is a simple one – they have to win out from here.
We’ve been saying it all season but in order to just be competitive in this tournament the Brisbane Heat have to bat well because they used up so much of their budget on batters in the draft and their bowling was always going to be exposed. That is just the way it is. When they don’t bat terrifically like in the last game they are in danger of being blown away. It might serve them well to bowl first so at least they know the task at hand when it comes to batting.
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Key Players
This is the last game of the tournament for Chris Lynn and it just so happens that the leading run scorer in the competition will bow out against his former club. He’ll be doubly motivated to finish with a bang in this one.
Marnus Labuschagne had a return to Heat colours to forget against the Perth Scorchers. He’ll be much keener to show what he has got to offer in this match and Brisbane really need him to stand up in all departments.
Betting
We have seen the Adelaide Oval be a high scoring ground all season long and on a baking hot day in Adelaide I am not expecting to see any different here, especially as these are two sides who are so much better with the bat in their hand than the ball. The Heat flattered to deceive with the bat last time out but that Scorchers attack offers so much more than a Rashid-less Strikers one does so I would be surprised and disappointed if Brisbane don’t get back on the batting horse here.
Adelaide should get after this Brisbane bowling attack. There is nothing really in it especially in these conditions and most of the Strikers batting is in good order and that unit is strengthened by having Alex Carey, Travis Head and Colin de Grandhomme all back here. The sixes line for this match is actually 11.5 but on these short square boundaries and straight ones which are nowhere near as long as they used to be I think two pretty big hitting teams can cover that line with a bit to spare.
Tips
Back Over 11.5 sixes for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with William Hill
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