We have a key match in the Big Bash League on Thursday when two sides in the top four meet at the MCG when the Melbourne Stars play host to the Sydney Sixers in a game which could be defining for many teams rather than just these two.
The Stars begin the evening in third place in the table with the Sixers in fourth with both teams separated by two points so the winners are going to take a big step towards a top four spot while the losers will be left with some work to do.
Melbourne Stars
The Melbourne Stars started this season like a house on fire with four successive wins but they have hit the skids a little in recent times and have now lost their last two. You don’t want to compare their campaign to the previous one where they started with five defeats before winning their last five and suggest that the reverse is happening but those thoughts would grow stronger were they to be beaten on home soil by the Sixers here.
There is a direct correlation between the Stars batting first and losing this season as well as them batting second and winning. They have done the latter four out of four times and done the former two in two so if they are going to push on and win this title then they are going to need to prove that they can win matches batting first. To assist with that, at some point you would think that one of their three international batters might need to move into the top four and lead the innings for longer.
Sydney Sixers
The Sydney Sixers are going about their business in the opposite direction to the Stars. After losing their opening two matches, the Sixers have won three of their last four, although they probably won’t need reminding that it was the Melbourne Stars who beat them in that recent run so they will be out for an air of revenge over the course of this match. They won’t go above the Stars with a win, unless it is by a sizeable margin, but they will move level on points with them but more importantly pull two points clear of fifth.
We are used to the Sixers putting a run of form together and if they can win this then they know that they get a couple of big players back later in the week so they will be in a good position. Their bowling has got better the longer the competition has gone on and you would have expected that with a couple of injuries in the earlier part of the campaign. The batting is beginning to heat up too so you fancy the Sixers will put up a good showing here.
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Key Players
You get the feeling that if the Melbourne Stars are going to win this game comfortably then they need to get their captain Marcus Stoinis into the game an awful lot more than was in the defeat to the Renegades last time out.
Joel Davies was an unlikely hero for the Sydney Sixers in their last match with 2-19 from his four overs and then a match clinching 35 from 26 balls and he could be a useful operator for the men in magenta in this one.
Betting
I’m a little bit surprised that the Sydney Sixers are outsiders in this match to the extent that they are. The Melbourne Stars won the reverse fixture between the two sides but that was largely down to an insanely good innings from Sam Harper which if he plays another like that then fair enough I’ll hold my hands up. Kane Richardson bowled two overs for 41 for the Sixers in that match and he isn’t in the squad for this one so there is a natural tightening of the two sides.
To add to that, Sam Curran, who is quickly becoming a very useful T20 operator, will be in the Sydney Sixers squad for the first time in this match and there are reasons to believe that the visitors can turn the tables here, particularly when you consider the changing form of the two sides in recent times. I would have a lot more faith in the Sixers defending a score should that be the match situation than I would the Stars and when I look down the two sides I still have Sydney as the netter one so I like the visitors in this match.
Tips
Back Sydney Sixers to beat Melbourne Stars for a 3/10 stake at 2.15 with Bet365
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