The Big Bash League returns with a double header of action in the competition on Saturday after the teams had a day off on Friday while England spanked the Aussies in the second ODI. With no match on Sunday either there will be a lot of attention on these two games which begins with the Melbourne Stars hosting the Sydney Thunder
This match is a much bigger match for the Thunder than it is for the Stars. The Thunder have to win their last two and then get their prayer mats out if they are to make it into the semi-finals. That hope was extinguished for the Stars days ago.
Melbourne Stars
It has been such a poor season for the Melbourne Stars that their chief executive has taken to their website to apologise to fans for the campaign they have put together and with just one win from their seven matches there hasn’t been a lot to cheer about for the men in green. At least their win came in the derby to give their fans some pleasure.
Sometimes you can pinpoint what is going wrong for a side but they have been so bad with both the bat and the ball it is hard to know where to start. The Stars have already began to blood some young players ahead of next season and that is probably the right way to go about their business. It will be interesting to see if they can produce the necessary standard of performance here.
Sydney Thunder
The Thunder have had a real up and down season and if they could just have strung a bit of winning momentum together they would have been deep in the mix for the semi-final spots rather than on the fringes of the chasing pack hoping a number of results will go their way. They have a win over the Perth Scorchers to their name this season which shows when they get it right they can be dangerous.
The big positive for the Thunder has been their spinners who have delivered the goods for much of the season. If they could just find a couple of decent batting performances, even if they are individual ones rather than team ones, then you would think they could yet win out. Whether that is good enough remains to be seen but it would give them a chance.
Team News
The Melbourne Stars have confirmed that Luke Wright has left the club so he will not feature here. That could see Peter Handscomb back up to opening with Marcus Stoinis still away with Australia. Adam Zampa is also away too.
Sydney Thunder have named an unchanged squad but they will need to find someone to bowl Arjun Nair’s four overs as he has been suspended from bowling after having been reported for an illegal action.
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Betting
It is the Sydney Thunder for me here. The Melbourne Stars have been useless all season but they have been especially poor against spin and in Fawad Ahmed the Thunder have one of the better spinners in the competition while Chris Green is no mug either.
If someone from the Sydney Thunder batting line up can get firing early doors and get this Stars bowling attack under pressure then they could well have their joy. Even if they can’t there is no guarantee the Melbourne side suddenly fire with the bat so it is the Thunder for me.
Tips
WON – Back Sydney Thunder to beat Melbourne Stars for a 4/10 stake at 1.85 with Bet365
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