There is a double header in the Big Bash League on Friday and it begins at the Adelaide Oval in what is a huge match for the Adelaide Strikers as they host the defending champions and table toppers Perth Scorchers.
Adelaide go into this match in fifth spot in the table but they know they will drop out of the top five if they lose here because someone will overtake them in the second match of the day. Perth are guaranteed a top two spot and a win here will have them nicely played to host the first playoff game.
Adelaide Strikers
It is red alert time for the Adelaide Strikers in this match. They really have to win it but even then they know they are already relying on other results to go their way in order to keep them in the top five. This all seemed extremely unlikely when they won their opening three matches but since then they have picked up just two victories in nine outings and are clinging onto the top five courtesy of their better net run rate, but even that is diminishing fast.
The big problem has been their bowling. It would be a little harsh to say it has fallen apart but it has certainly become torn at the seams and seemingly whatever they try and do to rectify the issue they can’t find a combination that gets early wickets and gets the opposition under pressure. That in turn means their batters need to break their necks to get a score which they can be competitive with and as is often the case they end up coming up short.
Perth Scorchers
The Perth Scorchers are blazing a trail at the top of the table once again. This is a position we are used to seeing them occupy and it doesn’t seem to matter which personnel they have with them they just get the job done season after season. They are all about the structure and the roles within that setup and then recruit players to play them or coach players to play in them should they find themselves short anywhere and are relentlessly successful with it.
You don’t tend to associate Perth with huge batting efforts and flashy shot making and scores over 200 and things like that but that doesn’t mean to say they can’t attack when the need arises and we saw evidence of that in their last match against the Hobart Hurricanes. One thing we do know they will always have is a very good bowling attack which really goes the distance and they have a captain who can think on his feet too which is important.
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Key Players
I think it is pretty obvious now that if Matt Short doesn’t have a good game then the Adelaide Strikers will come up short. He is the leading run scorer in the competition and has regularly picked up wickets along the way too.
Aaron Hardie is turning himself into quite a useful batter in that number three position for the Perth Scorchers. You wondered how they would fill the void left by Mitchell Marsh but Hardie has grown into the role and has gone on and scored big on a few occasions this term.
Betting
We are back at the Adelaide Oval for this one and that means I expect to see some boundaries here. The Adelaide bowling in recent matches just dictates that is what we are going to see. They have conceded 175 runs or a lot more in five of their last seven outings and would have probably conceded that many in another had the Melbourne Stars not reached their target with more than five overs to go. Perth Scorchers can bat with freedom here and make life very tough for the home side.
Adelaide have no other option but to try and bat big to make up for the hole that has blown through their bowling unit and they have the batting depth to do that. We usually always get a good pitch in Adelaide and the batters usually get their way with it, especially in a day game so I am expecting a high scoring game here. I’d side with Perth but the greater need is with Adelaide and I’m always wary of that so I’ll go with over 36.5 boundaries in this one.
Tips
Back Over 36.5 boundaries for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
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