The 2019/20 Big Bash League regular season is drawing to a close and the race for places in the finals is still well and truly alive. The Melbourne Stars have already secured top spot on the table with two games to play and will travel to Adelaide on Wednesday night to face the Strikers from 7.10pm.
The Strikers currently sit in third place on the BBL09 table with 13 points and are far from safe in the finals race. They’ll need to win at least one of their remaining three games to ensure they play finals this season. We have a full preview and betting tips for the Wednesday night clash below.
The international players are back for both sides, with Adam Zampa and Pete Handscomb returning for the Stars while Alex Carey will be a big inclusion for the Strikers.
Adelaide Strikers Squad (13): Travis Head (c), Wes Agar, Alex Carey, Harry Conway, Rashid Khan, Michael Neser, Liam O’Connor, Phil Salt, Matt Short, Peter Siddle, Billy Stanlake, Jake Weatherald, Jon Wells
Melbourne Stars Squad (13): Glenn Maxwell (c), Hilton Cartwright, Ben Dunk, Seb Gotch, Peter Handscomb, Clint Hinchliffe, Sandeep Lamichhane, Nick Larkin, Nic Maddinson, Lance Morris, Marcus Stoinis, Daniel Worrall, Adam Zampa
BBL09 Strikers vs Stars Betting Tips
Adelaide Strikers
The Strikers were comfortably beaten by the Brisbane Heat on the road last week but have since bounced back to win their last two games. They got instant revenge on the Heat on Friday, claiming a 10 wicket win at home before travelling to Launceston on Sunday and securing a 10 run win. The Strikers will likely only need to win one of their last three games against the Stars, Scorchers and Hurricanes to ensure they make the playoffs, as they currently sit 1.5 games clear of the Heat in sixth place.
The Strikers are one of just two teams to win against the Stars this season, when they did so back on the 27th of December. Jono Wells was the player of the match that night, smashing 68 off just 46 balls to give the Strikers a defendable total of 174. Wells has been the most consistent Strikers performance this season by far, scoring 351 runs at an average of 70.20 and scoring 20+ runs in seven of his 10 innings. Wells is dominant against the Stars, averaging more against them than any other BBL team at 59.75 across nine games. Back him to surpass his run line on Wednesday night.
Wells OVER 20.5 Runs
$1.88
Melbourne Stars
The Stars are in the enviable position of having wrapped up top spot on the table with two games to play. They sit five points clear of the Sydney Sixers, who they lost their second game of the season to on Monday night in a rain affected game. Chasing a revides total of 147 off just 14 overs, the stars fell 21 runs short in the chase, as Marcus Stoinis was once again dominant with 62 off just 37 balls.
Stoinis is having one of the all-time dominant seasons in BBL history and needs 53 runs across his last two games to break D’Arcy Short’s record for the most runs in a BBL season, set last year. When the Stars lost to the Strikers earlier this season, Stoinis smashed 33 off just 31 balls and although his run line for Wednesday’s game is all the way up at 28.5, it’s extremely hard to overlook in his current form.
Stoinis OVER 28.5 Runs
$1.88
Prediction
Considering the Stars might not have a lot of urgency about them here as they have already locked up top spot on the table, the bookies have them out at $1.80, which is the best odds we have seen for them in a game for a while. The fact is, if Stoinis gets off the chain and scores 60+, which he has done in nearly every game this season, there’s a small chance that the Stars can lose.
Stoinis batting well at the top of the order allows the likes of Maxwell, Dunk and Coulter-Nile to come in at the end of the innings and push what is a defendable score up to the 180+ range. Can’t look past Stoinis and the Stars in their current form.
Melbourne Stars H2H
$1.80
