The second half of the double header in the Big Bash League on Friday comes from the Adelaide Oval but it is the two Sydney sides who will battle it out in a huge Sydney Smash as the Sydney Sixers take on the Sydney Thunder.
The Sixers have pretty much secured their place in the finals and for them it is now just about finishing in the top two whereas the Thunder have seen sides whizz past them in the last week and need to start winning again in order to make the postseason.
Sydney Sixers
This has been an excellent campaign for the Sydney Sixers so far and when you think they have been without some key men throughout it to date then their success has been even more remarkable. They begin the day with an eight point lead in the table with three matches left and a win here will secure a top two finish and ensure they get a couple of bites at the cherry when it comes to making the final, as they go about looking to make a successful defence of the title.
The Sixers go into this second Sydney Smash of the campaign off the back of three straight wins, all achieved by chasing a score down, and they will be looking to continue that good form. Their bowlers are just beginning to come to the party as a unit which is something they are famed for so if their batting continues to go as well as it has been doing then the men in magenta are going to take a lot of beating over the next couple of weeks.
Sydney Thunder
This has been a much improved season for the Sydney Thunder so far but they are just in danger of undoing all their hard work. They have slid down to fifth in the table but a win here would have their position tightened up a little bit so there is a whole lot to play for. The Thunder have picked the absolute worst time to lose three matches in succession and really need to find a way out of their slump if they are going to progress deep in the postseason.
The big problem has been their bowling attack has come off the top of its game. A couple of injuries haven’t helped in that department but they aren’t bowling as well throughout an innings as they were and while they are still putting decent runs on the board, the need to maximise every innings has sometimes meant that they go too hard and fall short of where they should have got to. They need to find a way to regain their bowling mojo.
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Team News
Finally for the first time this season the Sydney Sixers have their captain Moises Henriques and Sean Abbott available after they have returned from the Test setup. Ben Dwarshuis is also back in a very strong looking squad where some good players will be missing out.
Things are not so good for the Sydney Thunder who will be without Daniel Sams for the remainder of the regular season after he damaged a hand against the Hobart Hurricanes last time out. Alex Ross, Arjun Nair and Brendan Doggett are all bidding to replace him.
Betting
I’m expecting a high scoring match here because both these sides bat with so much depth and so much power at the top of the order that the bowlers should be on the back foot constantly on what we saw on Thursday is a perfectly good batting pitch. The Adelaide Strikers put up almost 200 on the pitch on Thursday and although the Brisbane Heat didn’t offer much in terms of a score they just put themselves under pressure by stagnating at the top of their order which neither of these teams will do.
The runs line for this match sits at 322.5 which is probably only par scores needed on this ground in order for it to be covered. Usually the first innings here goes beyond 170 so we are not necessarily looking for the team batting second to win. Sydney Thunder put up 166 in the first match between these two despite losing two key players in Sam Billings and Alex Hales in the same over. You would think they will learn from that and be much better for it so I expect both these teams to put enough runs on to see this line covered.
Tips
WON – Back Over 322.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Betway
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