The fourth match of the new Big Bash League season takes place on Friday and the tournament heads to Adelaide for the first time in the campaign when the Adelaide Strikers take on the Sydney Thunder.
Both these sides missed out on the postseason last time around and the minimum aim for the pair of them will be to get back to the play-offs at the very least. A win will do wonders for that quest so we should be in for a good contest here.
Adelaide Strikers
The Strikers were the best side in the regular season for each of the two seasons prior to the last one. They couldn’t find any consistency last season which was a bit of a surprise given the success they had prior to that and as a result they have undergone a series of squad changes for this new season in a bid to return to past glories.
Adelaide look to have a very solid bowling attack with options in all conditions and maybe most importantly they have two very good leg spin options which could be important with spin already showing itself to be valuable this season. The concern would appear to be in their batting depth but a couple of big innings from the top order will sort that out.
Sydney Thunder
This is the second match of the season for the Sydney Thunder and the former champions will be looking to open their campaign with back to back wins. That would be a big thing for them because we have seen in the past that they are very much a confidence side who performs in streaks of either wins or losses.
Whilst giving them credit for winning the Sydney derby in the opening match of the season we should acknowledge how close they were to throwing a dominant position away in the match. In the end a couple of lucky inside edges got them over the line but you would think they will need to improve on that as they go along.
Team News
Colin Ingram and Rashid Khan are both expected to make their debuts for the Strikers in this match while Peter Siddle is another who is likely to start for his new side too.
Sydney Thunder may decide to go in with an unchanged side although Callum Ferguson has been named in the squad. He could go into the team if he is passed fit.
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Betting
I think this is a close match to call. I wasn’t massively impressed with the Sydney Thunder in the first match of the tournament but having played that match they might have an advantage on the Adelaide Strikers to a certain extent. I’ll go to the side markets for a bet here.
That comes in the form of the total sixes where an 11.5 line is pretty acceptable. We saw in the Test match here recently that there are no demons in the pitch and with the boundaries square of the wicket as short as they are and the likes of Shane Watson and Colin Ingram on show who love a leg side hoik with other big hitters such as Travis Head and Jos Buttler playing too I think we’ll see a dozen sixes. There will be a fair amount of spin used in the game which while that may keep the scoring low it will offer the chance for some big hits. I fancy a dozen or more sixes here.
Tips
Back Over 11.5 sixes for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with William Hill
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