The second leg of the double header in the Big Bash League on Saturday could be a dead rubber or it could be the second knockout match of the day when the Perth Scorchers welcome the Adelaide Strikers to Optus Stadium.
If the Melbourne Renegades win the earlier game this one becomes a knockout game with the winner moving into the top four ahead of the final regular season match on Sunday. If Brisbane Heat have won earlier in the day this will be a dead rubber.
Perth Scorchers
We are certainly not accustomed to seeing the Perth Scorchers in this position this late in the regular season. Firstly they have to support the Melbourne Renegades and hope that they win to keep their season alive and then it comes down to them to win to take their campaign down to the final day of the regular season. If they are still alive by the time this game begins it might be that a win isn’t enough but they need to win by a certain margin if the Renegades won by enough to overtake their net run rate.
The Scorchers have lost their last four matches which in itself is unheard of but they go into this one off the back of a terrible batting performance and you’ve got to think that confidence is going to be quite low here. They could have done with Mitchell Marsh back for this one but he is being rested by Cricket Australia which is a big blow to the Scorchers because he is a huge player. The good news is Cooper Connolly is able to play before going to Sri Lanka.
Adelaide Strikers
The Adelaide Strikers are no strangers to getting into the top four at the last minute so if they Melbourne Renegades have won the match earlier in the day then they won’t be performing under pressure they haven’t been in before. They were in this situation last season and everything worked out well for them but they are needing a result to go their way before they know for sure and that is never a position any team wants to be in.
The Strikers have been pretty ruthless with the bat this season but where they could be vulnerable if this is a live game is with the ball. They have gone around the park a few times and if this is a knockout game of cricket they certainly can’t afford for that to happen here because there will be an occasion where their batting can’t get them out of the mess that the bowlers have got them in. The good news is the last two performances overall have been decent enough.
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Key Players
Cooper Connelly is still the second highest run scorer in the competition and whatever happens this is his last game of the season for the Scorchers so he will want to go out on something of a high and hopefully send his side into the finals.
Lloyd Pope has gone under the radar a little for the Adelaide Strikers with their bowling overall getting canned a little too much but he is the second leading wicket taker in the campaign and more scalps here would help the Adelaide cause.
Betting
These matches are never the easiest to bet on too far in advance because we don’t know if there is going to be anything on it or not. This could be the most competitive and biggest game of the season so far is the Melbourne Renegades have won earlier in the day or it is a complete and utter dead rubber if the Brisbane Heat have won and predicting what might happen without knowing the dynamics of everything isn’t an easy thing to do.
One thing I do expect though is a high scoring match. Adelaide Strikers have the ability to take any bowling unit apart and there is a hole or two in this Scorchers attack now with a couple of injuries that they are carrying. The Strikers bowling hasn’t been good all season though and now Jamie Overton has departed for England duty and that isn’t going to help matters. The Scorchers haven’t batted brilliantly this season but against this attack they should score well so I like over 321.5 runs to land here regardless of what the dynamic of the match is.
Tips
Back Over 321.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
