BBL11 Strikers vs Hurricanes Betting Tips
MCG, Friday January 21st, 7.15pm (AEDT)
Adelaide Strikers
Likely XI: Alex Carey, Matthew Short, Matthew Renshaw, Travis Head, Ian Cockbain, Jonathan Wells, Jake Weatherald, Henry Thornton, Peter Siddle, Harry Conway, Fawad Ahmed
The Strikers are expected to make three changes with Matt Short back from injury, along with the return of Travis Head and Alex Carey from national duties. Henry Hunt, Thomas Kelly and Harry Nielsen will be the unlucky players to make way. It will be fascinating to see how the Strikers structure their batting lineup given the returns of Short, Head and Carey who will all likely bat inside the top four.
After losing seven of their first eight games, the Strikers won five of their last six games to sneak into fourth place. With their last two of their last three wins coming against the Scorchers and Sixers, they’ve hit a seriously rich vein of form.
The Strikers batting stocks were paper thin for the majority of the season, but now with a batting lineup featuring Carey, Short, Renhsaw, Head, Cockbain, Wells and Weatherald - the Strikers possess a batting unit that can compete with anyone.
Hobart Hurricanes
Likely XI: Ben McDermott, Caleb Jewell, Matthew Wade, D'Arcy Short, Tim David, Peter Handscomb, Jordan Thompson, Tom Rogers, Riley Meredith, Scott Boland, Sandeep Lamichhane
The Hurricanes opted to rest nearly all of their front line bowlers for Wednesday’s clash against the Stars and although sport science might say it was the right call, conceding the record individual and team score in the history of the BBL has to have an effect on the Hurricanes morale and momentum.
Scott Boland returns from Test duties, alongside Riley Meredith and Tom Rogers who were rested for the Hurricanes last game. It’s a quality bowling attack taking on a stacked batting lineup, and the Hurricanes will need their bowling attack to produce if they’re any chance to win this clash.
Out of the embarrassing loss, Ben McDermott continued his stellar season scoring 55 to take his season tally to 571 runs - the most in the BBL. D’Arcy Short scored 41* but as he has all season, he struggled for any rhythm and tempo throughout his knock.
Match Prediction
The Hurricanes are 2-2 in their last four games and in those two defeats, their top heavy batting unit was exposed. When the Strikers bowled the Canes out for 126 in the last meeting between the two sides, Ben McDermott (11), Matthew Wade (1) and D’Arcy Short (32) only combined for 44 runs. If the Hurricanes main three don’t get going, the Hurricanes won’t be able to produce a winning score.
The Strikers have two of the top thirteen run scorers in the competition in Jono Wells (5th, 409 runs) and Matt Short (13th, 359 runs). Add Ian Cockbain’s 123 runs from three games at an average of 123 with a strike rate of 148, Alex Carey and Travis Head, the Strikers have some serious momentum behind them.
Tournament play is all about peaking at the right time, and the Strikers are doing exactly that. The Hurricanes started the tournament positively, but have lost four of their last seven games. This clash will hinge on the battle of the Hurricanes bowling against the Strikers batting, and the Strikers have too many weapons with the bat for the Hurricanes to contain. The Strikers have won two of their last three games against the Canes, and they’ll move on to face the Thunder on Sunday.
Same Game Multi
To kick off the multi, we're continuing to ride the hot hand of Ben McDermott, the leading scorer in BBL11. McDermott has scored 571 runs at an average of 51 with a strike rate of 153, with two centuries and three half centuries. Our BBL Data Tools show us that McDermott has scored over the 20 run mark in six of his last ten games, and in 53% of his innings since BBL07.
Travis Head returns to the Hurricanes as the seventh ranked batsmen in Test cricket after a stunning Ashes series that saw him pick up man of the series. Head will be full of confidence coming into a final against a side he has dominated. Head has scored 214 runs at an average of 71 in his past four games against the Hurricanes, returning scores of 47, 79, 44* and 44.
To round out the multi, we’re taking Matt Short to score 10+ runs. Short has been the most prolific run scorer in the powerplay during BBL11, and is the 13th highest scorer in the competition with 359 runs. Short has reached the 10+ mark in 11 of his 13 games in BBL11.
McDermott 20+ Runs
Head 10+ Runs
Short 10+ Runs
STR vs HUR Same Game Multi
$2.87
