Two teams who won their opening outing in the Big Bash League season meet in their second match of the new campaign in the second part of the double header on Friday when the Sydney Thunder host the Adelaide Strikers at the Sydney Showground.
The Thunder began with a nervy win over the Melbourne Stars while the Strikers took a good Sydney Sixers side apart and will be looking to polish off a second Sydney outfit in the space of a couple of days here.
Sydney Thunder
The Sydney Thunder would have been emphatic favourites to get the opening win at the halfway mark of the first game but in the end they ended up falling over the line and nearly threw what looked like an unassailable position away. Thankfully for them a misfield from the last ball went to the boundary to get them off the hook but I think it is fair to say that they need to be much more ruthless if they are to achieve their goals this season.
The positive in that opening game was that their entire bowling attack bowled very well. Fazalhaq Farooqi hit the ground running on his debut in the competition while Gurinder Sandhu and Daniel Sams showed how awkward they can be to get away. They lost some batting quality in the draft ahead of the season but there is still enough in there to perform better than they did in that opening match. They need someone to take responsibility with the bat.
Adelaide Strikers
In the opening three matches of this tournament it is hard to argue that the Adelaide Strikers were not the most impressive performers to date. They ticked every box that you would want a team to tick midway through a season let alone in their opening match. They got off to a good start with the bat, played aggressively and with freedom against a top side and then with an above par score on the board there was never a stage where it didn’t look like they would defend it.
When you see the Adelaide bowling in action it is hard to see how any team is going to get away from them. They are clever enough to use a canny spinner at the top of the order, have four seamers who read conditions very well and if they need the game changer then Rashid Khan is that. It might change later in the tournament when Rashid Khan leaves for the UAE league but until then you would imagine Adelaide are going to keep things very tight.
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Key Players
Alex Ross looked like he was guiding the Thunder to a comfortable win in their opening match but then out of nowhere he got out and Sydney nearly paid the price. They need an experienced head to take responsibility to see the innings through.
Henry Thornton was a dark horse to be the top bowler in the tournament in my eyes and he showed by in that opening game. He has pace, a great Yorker and a bumper that seemingly comes out of nowhere. If he takes some scalps at the top of the order Adelaide will be well on their way.
Betting
I was very keen on the Adelaide Strikers before the tournament started and there was nothing that I saw in that opening match to put me off them. They have plenty of batting depth in their side and their bowling unit looks up there with anything I’ve seen in this competition perhaps with the exception of the Perth Scorchers one when they were in their pomp under Justin Langer. The crazy thing for the Strikers is they still have their two best players to come back.
I think we’ll see much more of what the Sydney Thunder are like here. Anyone can take their foot off the gas when a match is almost won and when that does happen it doesn’t hurt as much when it doesn’t cost you but I do think they are going to need to find a bit of batting depth. Daniel Sams walked out at six which feels like a place too high. The other thing I don’t like about the Thunder is I look at their batting and it is designed to excel on flat pitches but there has been a bit of rain around Sydney so there is no guarantee they get that here. I’ll take the Strikers at even money.
Tips
Back Adelaide Strikers to beat Sydney Thunder for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with William Hill
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