The Big Bash League matches are coming thick and fast at the minute and we have two more to enjoy on Monday beginning in Hobart when the Melbourne Stars play a home match against the Hobart Hurricanes at Blundstone Arena.
Usually this is the home ground of the Hurricanes so there is a pretty big advantage for them in that regard and they will be looking for a rapid quick double over the Stars. Melbourne have just hit the buffers in recent times and will be wanting to get back to winning ways here.
Melbourne Stars
The first week of the season was a good one for the Melbourne Stars and it looked like the men in green would continue to dominate the regular season but things have gone a bit sour since then. They had their momentum halted by the rain against the Perth Scorchers and then suffered a nasty defeat against the Sydney Sixers and there is reason to suggest they are yet to recover from that. They have been well beaten in their two matches since then, although they threw the last game away.
It hasn’t been mentioned because Glenn Maxwell is in such good form but the Stars are really starting to struggle with the bat, especially in their top three, where Maxwell really should be batting. His form has been that good that he has been able to take them to a good total but their bowlers have been found out in recent times and you suspect we are on the verge of something going to give. The Stars aren’t known for their smartness though so it remains to be seen what they do to arrest their slide.
Hobart Hurricanes
It has been a busy period for the Hobart Hurricanes and while they haven’t always been at their most fluent best in that time, they have picked up enough results to keep themselves nicely in the top five and a win here would really cement that position. They have generally performed a lot better on this ground than away from it and while that will be a concern moving forward, it should be something that gives them a lot of confidence now.
The Hurricanes have played four matches on this ground this season and they have won the lot but just recently there is a concern or two that they aren’t maximising the talent they have available to them with the bat. If they can get back to doing that, whether that is here or particularly on their travels, then they are a team to be feared in this competition because their bowling attack is getting the job done, even without one or two key cogs in that wheel.
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Team News
The Melbourne Stars haven’t named their squad at the time of writing but we know that they will have Adam Zampa back from his suspension but it remains to be seen whether Nic Maddinson is fit after rolling his ankle on Saturday. It will be interesting to see if there is a change in the batting order.
The Hobart Hurricanes have chosen to go in with the same squad for this match and even though they weren’t foot perfect against the Stars last time out it would be something of a surprise if there are any changes to their side.
Betting
I’ll take a couple of performances in this match with the first of them coming in the form of Glenn Maxwell who is just in too good a vein of form and too involved in the match to be issued a performance target of 33.5pts. To put this line into perspective the other firms who have priced one up are going 42.5 and I thought that was on the low side. Maxwell comes into this match off the back of a wicket, two catches and a blistering 70 for 110 points against this opponent on this ground in his last match and in the five innings he has played in this tournament only once has he not covered this total with the bat and that was when his side were chasing well over 200 against a gun Sydney Thunder attack. He could easily cover this with the bat but we know he’ll open the bowling to keep D’Arcy Short honest and he’s always in the game in the field. This line is too low so I’ll take the over.
The other performance I like in this match is for Nathan Ellis to cover 22.5pts. He has really impressed in this tournament and is getting given the key overs with the ball for the Hobart Hurricanes. What has also caught the eye has been his late order hitting, so much so that the Hurricanes’ think tank sent him up the order to pinch hit in the last game. That went terribly but there is a chance he gets the three points with the bat that means we only need one wicket for this to be covered. Even if he needs two wickets that is exactly what he got in the previous game. He also took a catch in that match as well so this is a line that I think the talented seamer can cover.
Tips
Back G.Maxwell’s Performance – Over 33.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.87 with 888sport
Back him here:
WON – Back N.Ellis’ Performance – Over 22.5pts for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
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