The second half of the double header in the Big Bash League on Boxing Day sees the champions Sydney Sixers continue their title defence when they take on the only unbeaten side to date in Melbourne Stars in the opening match of the campaign at the Carrara Oval.
Both these teams have two wins from their first three matches in the competition so top spot in the table is going to be the reward for whichever side comes out on top here which should add to the spice in the contest.
Sydney Sixers
After dropping their opening match of the competition, the defending champions have bounced back in style. They absolutely annihilated the Melbourne Renegades in their second game and were pretty convincing in seeing off the Adelaide Strikers last time out. They weren’t at their best with the bat in that first game but even then they were in a winning position before the scoreboard pressure saw them collapse a little late on.
That would be a concern going into this match. They have won both of their matches so far by putting up a daunting score and successfully defending it so it will be interesting to see how they handle chasing a score down if they are asked to do that. That looks to be the only question mark over the defending champions at this stage of the competition because we know both their batting and bowling units are going well.
Melbourne Stars
The Melbourne Stars look to be off on another quest to top the regular season table but that is what we have come to expect from them. Their acid test will come when the play-offs come around to see if they can finally perform under the pressure of knockout cricket. If they can then they are going to be a tough side to stop but all too often we see them peak at this stage of the competition and have little left at the back end of a season.
The Stars are another team who don’t have many weaknesses. Their batting is more powerful than it has ever been this season with their two Caribbean imports and their bowling attack is no less powerful even while they wait for their Pakistan star Haris Rauf to make his way through quarantine. The one thing which is a slight concern is that there is a lack of glue in the batting to knit it all together so they will need someone to be smart.
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Team News
The Sydney Sixers remain without their captain Moises Henriques so Daniel Hughes will lead the team. They are still waiting for Jake Ball to come out of quarantine so Jason Holder, Carlos Brathwaite and James Vince continue the overseas duties.
The Melbourne Stars will be missing Marcus Stionis and Nic Maddinson for this match with the former given time off away from a bubble and the latter not allowed into Queensland. Dam Zampa returns and Zahir Khan is set for his Stars debut.
Betting
I’m with the Melbourne Stars here even though they are without Marcus Stoinis. That isn’t ideal but they have more than enough batting in their ranks even without Nic Maddinson. He hasn’t contributed with the bat in the competition yet anyway so the likes of Hilton Cartwright, Glenn Maxwell and Ben Dunk can bat around the two West Indian players to get the job done. With the ball the Stars look very strong particularly with Zampa back.
The Sixers have been going along quite well in their last two matches but the concern is if their openers fail they might expose a little lack of true batting without Henriques. They got away with it in the last game when Dan Christian splattered it to all parts but relying on innings like that every game is not a profitable strategy. There is an element of their bowling that can go the distance as well so I like the Stars to come through this one.
Tips
Back Melbourne Stars to beat Sydney Sixers for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with Coral
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