The Big Bash League returns on Tuesday and it does so with a couple of teams looking to get off the mark for their season when the Adelaide Strikers go up against the Sydney Thunder as we head back to the Adelaide Oval.
The Strikers have had one fixture so far but watched on as the rain fell while the Thunder have also played one match and they lost it so both teams will be eager to get back out onto the park and get their first win of the season.
Adelaide Strikers
The Adelaide Strikers went into the season with one or two question marks over them, the biggest one being how they would come with the injury to Rashid Khan putting him out of the season and the departure of Peter Siddle, who was a huge influence on the bowling attack. We didn’t get the chance to find out in their opening game but we should see what happens here because the forecast for this one is much better.
You get the impression that if the Strikers are going to win this match and have a positive season then you sense their batters are going to need to come to the party. They do have a couple of overseas bowlers coming in but they are probably going to need a game or two to get up to speed and this truncated season doesn’t really allow for that. If the Strikers can bat well it will at least give them a chance of being competitive.
Sydney Thunder
The Sydney Thunder had to wait a while to get their season up and running and now they have had another week before they play their second game so I would imagine they will be keen for matches to come along regularly. They were pretty well beaten in their first match but it might be that they lost to one of the better sides in the Brisbane Heat and it may be that they are better judged on the efforts that they provide over the course of this encounter.
The Thunder put up a decent effort with the ball in Canberra in their opening game but they couldn’t get anything moving with the bat in hand. We shouldn’t be too critical of them for that because I think the Heat rival the better bowling attacks in the league. They are up against a weaker bowling attack in this match so it will be interesting to see what the Thunder have to offer in this one. If they bat well I think they have a good chance here.
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Key Players
Matt Short was always going to be a key player for the Adelaide Strikers after his batting and bowling heroics in franchise cricket over the last 12 months but now he has been given the captaincy he becomes even more important.
Tanveer Sangha bowled beautifully in the opening match for the Sydney Thunder and with a World Cup getting closer and spots behind Adam Zampa in the squad up for grabs he will be keen to continue the form he showed in Canberra.
Betting
I have my concerns over the Adelaide Strikers and I would need to see them in action and prove that their bowling attack can cope without two key cogs from last season before I get stuck into them this term. Sydney Thunder might have lost their first match but I really think the Brisbane Heat could be the team to beat this season and as such defeat to them probably isn’t going to define their campaign as disappointed as they would have been to lose.
I don’t think Alex Hales is going to be out first ball very often and he has the potential to a take a game away from anyone. He’ll know half of the Strikers’ attack having faced Jamie Overton and David Payne a fair bit in England and on a ground where he has a decent record, if he can fire the Thunder could be away and gone. I rate this Sydney attack as better than the Adelaide one and as long as the Thunder keep tabs on Matt Short I think they win this.
Tips
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