There is another double header of action in the Big Bash League on Monday and it begins with an afternoon match between the Hobart Hurricanes and the Sydney Thunder as two of the top five collide in Melbourne.
Both these teams go into this match off the back of wins in their last match and are in good shape to make it into the finals. With dew and everything else not being a factor in this day game we should be treated to a great game of cricket.
Hobart Hurricanes
The Hobart Hurricanes needed their win over the Brisbane Heat on Saturday. You have to acknowledge that they beat a Brisbane Heat who have been decimated by Covid but that isn’t their problem. They can only beat what is in front of them and they did that and did it pretty ruthlessly. As with earlier in the competition though it was Ben McDermott once again scoring the runs and I just don’t see it being a successful situation relying on him all the time.
To be fair to Hobart they have had to mix and match with a bat a little in recent times so that might explain why it is all on McDermott but if they are going to win this tournament they are going to need to find more contributors with the willow. The good thing for Hobart is that they have a lot of bowling options and a number of those are contributing so if they can sort out their overreliance on McDermott this is a side which can be dangerous.
Sydney Thunder
The Sydney Thunder are now on a run of five straight wins and if anything they are getting better. That might sound like a strange statement but during that run they have lost four players to Covid and latterly a couple of international call ups have deprived them of two other men. The fact players can come off the bench and perform so well for them, particularly in these times where practice and getting cricket in is very difficult, say everything about them as players and the environment they have.
The other good thing about the Thunder is they are not having to rely on one department to get it done for them. In the last match they smoked 200 and then skittled the Melbourne Renegades for just 80. They are not the best team in the competition but when you win a T20 match by more than 100 runs against anyone you are doing something right, let alone in one of these franchise tournaments where the field is supposed to be much more level.
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Team News
Harry Brook and Jordan Thompson have passed the Covid protocols so they are ready to take up their place in the squad but once again there is no Scott Boland, Matthew Wade, Joel Paris or Nathan Ellis for the Hobart Hurricanes.
Chris Green remains out after he was a close contact to someone who tested positive for Covid so Jason Sangha is going to continue to captain what is likely to be an unchanged side after Sam Billings and Saqib Mahmood have left for international duty.
Betting
We all know that the Melbourne Cricket Ground is the biggest playing arena in Australia but I’m not convinced it is big enough to contain these two sides and I’m going to go against what would be common logic and back over 8.5 sixes here. One reason why I like the sixes here is because this is a day game where conditions should be good for batting and with this now a double header of action you would imagine the pitch will play very well in this match.
I have said in the past that these are two of the bigger hitting sides in the competition. It would be more ideal if the Hobart Hurricanes were batting as a complete form unit but even then Ben McDermott, D’Arcy Short and Tim David are three of the bigger hitters in the country. The Thunder have hitters everywhere you look and they could really tuck into this youthful Hobart attack. I do expect Hobart to contribute to the six hitting as well though so I’ll take the over here.
Tips
Back Over 8.5 sixes for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Bet365
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