The Big Bash League treads new territory on Saturday when the competition heads to Launceston for the first time. The Hobart Hurricanes will host the Sydney Thunder in a match which both sides will be keen to win to kick start their campaigns.
To be fair to Hobart the schedule has been a bit lop-sided where they are concerned. This is just their second match of the season when most of the teams have played three games. This will be the fourth match for the Thunder.
Hobart Hurricanes
It was a while ago now but the Hobart Hurricanes were soundly beaten by the Melbourne Renegades in their opening match of the tournament. The fact that match was so long ago is both good and bad. It is good in terms of them having time to reflect and put right what went wrong but bad because it will be like starting the season again.
We saw in that opening match that they will be competitive with the ball in this tournament so if they can find some form with the bat then they might not be the also-rans that some expected them to be. Finding that form will be the key though and it could be easier said than done while Tim Paine is missing.
Sydney Thunder
The former champions got off to a winning start to the season but things have dipped since then as they have followed that victory with back to back defeats. In fairness they could easily have lost their opening three matches because they stole a win in the Sydney Smash to begin their campaign. They need another win soon.
To be fair to them while their bowling attack isn’t littered with class acts but that unit have done a decent job in the competition so far. The problems have come with the bat. Shane Watson has been fantastic but he hasn’t had much in the way of support. Kurtis Patterson has got runs but he’s taken ages to get them and everyone else looks out of touch.
Team News
Hobart Hurricanes have made three changes to their squad from their defeat to the Melbourne Renegades. Caleb Jewell, Tom Rogers and Simon Milenko come in for Aaron Summers, Nathan Reardon and Hamish Kingston.
Ben Rohrer has been included in the Sydney Thunder squad despite the blow he suffered in Brisbane in their last match so the Thunder could be unchanged for this contest.
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Betting
We don’t have much to go on in terms of history on this ground to know what to bet on here but one thing I have noted is that this is largely a ground used for other sports and is said to be oval shaped so there are going to be short boundaries to be had throughout the match here. With that in mind over 35.5 boundaries looks a runner.
Another bet I’m taking is the performance of Shane Watson. He has had an excellent start to the competition with two 50s a wicket and a couple of catches from the three matches. He is clearly playing well enough to cover the 35.5 line with the bat but when you factor in he’s likely to bowl with all the options getting used here and as captain he’ll field in key areas I expect this line to be covered. He covered it with an average match in all departments or an excellent one in one. I’ll take the overs.
Tips
Back Over 36.5 boundaries for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with William Hill
Back it here:
WON – Back S.Watson’s Performance – Over 36.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.73 with Bet365
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