There is one team left to get their Big Bash League season underway and they do so on Tuesday when the Sydney Thunder get up and running for the new campaign. They host the Brisbane Heat at the Manuka Oval.
This is the first game of the season for the Thunder whereas the Heat have already played a match and won it and watched on as the rain denied them the chance to get onto the pitch for a second one. They will be in the early ascendency in the table with a win here.
Sydney Thunder
The Sydney Thunder finished fourth in the regular season last term but were undone by the rain in their only playoff match so they might feel that they have unfinished business with the competition this season. They have a slight advantage on some teams in that they have had a week with the majority of their squad ahead of opening their campaign and they will be looking to show that they have used that time well in this contest.
The Thunder by and large have the same squad which they used last season but for the odd player who they have replaced. They tend to be a team who have a great eye for a young talent and allowing them to blossom and it will be interesting to see what talents they unveil on this stage this season. Looking at the squad they look to have better bowling resources than batting ones but if Daniel Sams can fire with the bat he’ll make up for that.
Brisbane Heat
The Brisbane Heat were convincing winners of their opening match on home soil against the Melbourne Stars but they saw their second match against the Adelaide Strikers washed out before a ball was bowled. That leaves them on three points after a couple of matches and if they can win here they would be on five points and with only 10 matches per team this term, you would imagine they will be just under halfway to the playoffs.
They were brutal with the bat in that win over the Stars and then more than good enough with the ball. The test for them here will be to be good enough with the bat once again because they are without their Test stars but they do have a couple of batters back from the Prime Minister XI game which should help with that. The Heat do look good with the ball on paper and conditions at Manuka should suit them so they could be hard to beat here.
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Key Players
You get the impression that if the Sydney Thunder are going to win matches regularly then Daniel Sams will need to contribute, certainly with the ball, but potentially with the bat to turn a good score into a great one and an average one into a good one.
I think early wickets will be the order of the day for the Brisbane Heat in this match and that means that Michael Neser could be key. He can swing the ball with great skill and he is a pretty clean hitter at the back end of the innings.
Betting
I think the fact that the Brisbane Heat have had a competitive hit out will give them a bit of an edge here, especially as the Sydney Thunder will be without one of their key players in Jason Sangha and another in Ollie Davies is just about recovered from an injury. They look like they are a little too reliant on the top of their batting order and the Heat have a couple of classy bowlers at the top of the innings who could well get stuck in.
Even if they don’t you would imagine that Brisbane will score well in this match so I don’t think it is the be all and end all that Brisbane get early wickets, it would just make the contest seemingly easier. Brisbane can win a high scoring match with the batting depth that they have but their attack has already shown in this tournament that they can shoot a side out for buttons. I’m not convinced Sydney can win a low scoring game and they would need two key batters to go big in order to win a high scoring one. I have to go with the Heat here.
Tips
Back Brisbane Heat to beat Sydney Thunder for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Betfred
