Two more teams get their Big Bash League season up and running on Tuesday when the Adelaide Strikers play host to the Sydney Thunder at the Adelaide Oval with both teams looking to get off to a winning start to their campaign.
The Strikers went deep into the tournament last season without getting their hands on the trophy and that will act as motivation for them this term. The Thunder had a season to forget and will be keen to start in a much more positive fashion here.
Adelaide Strikers
The Adelaide Strikers finished last season with a flourish to make it into the top four and then they went to Perth and shocked the Perth Scorchers in the elimination game before they ran head first into a monster innings from Josh Brown in the Challenger against the Brisbane Heat which finished them off. Nevertheless, from where they were to begin with that was a creditable effort and now they will be looking to build on that over the course of this season.
The key thing for the Strikers here will be whether their bowling can get the job done. They are going to need some turn in the tracks because it looks like they are going to go in with a spin trio and maybe even four spin options if Matthew Short bowls his overs as well. It looks like they are going to have enough depth with the bat even without their two gun batters who are on Test duty but if the ball doesn’t spin you wonder if they might be cannon fodder.
Sydney Thunder
The Sydney Thunder go into this campaign off the back of a season of one win so they are not going to need to do too much this time around to improve on that. They had to do some work to their squad in the off season and while they probably would want a little bit more on top of what they have got, they look a lot stronger with the bat which was a real problem last season and if they can bat well in this tournament their attack looks like it will be competitive.
The Thunder look to have the right mix in their bowling unit with some good seamers to deliver the goods up front, quality spin in the middle of the innings and also a spinner who can restrict things in the opening four overs. That new ball bowling is going to need to be spot on it here because the leading run scorer in the competition from last term is in the opposition. If they can get early wickets here it would certainly help their chances.
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Key Players
Matthew Short was the leading run scorer in the competition last season and as the Strikers captain they will be looking for him to deliver the goods with the bat in this match. He will also be key with the ball as well so he has a big role to play in this one.
David Warner has quit international cricket now so he will be around for the entire season for the Sydney Thunder and if they are going to reach the top four then he is going to need a big campaign at the top of the order.
Betting
This should be a really good match between two sides who I suspect are going to play aggressive cricket this season. Both teams bat pretty deep and have some really big hitters in their ranks so I’m expecting the ball to do a little bit of travelling here, especially with Adelaide in particularly likely to utilise an attack which is dominated by spin. That would be fine on a turning pitch but pitches in the Big Bash don’t tend to turn this early in the competition usually.
The sixes line for this match is 10.5 which is a little on the low side to me here. The Adelaide Oval has short boundaries on both sides and these two teams are more than good enough to exploit that and one or two of the players could easily clear the longer boundaries too. We’ve got the likes of Matt Short, D’Arcy Short, Chris Lynn, David Warner, Sam Billings and Sherfane Rutherford among others batting for us here and that lot combined along with the support cast can lead us to 11 sixes.
Tips
Back Over 10.5 sixes for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with William Hill
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