Game two of the Saturday BBL double header sees the Scorchers taking on the Strikers in Sydney. Both sides come into this clash on the back of wins, and will be looking to continue that momentum in a blockbuster Saturday night clash. We’ve got you covered with our tips and preview below!
BBL11 Scorchers vs Strikers Betting Tips
Sydney Showground Stadium, Saturday December 11th, 9.30pm (AEDT)
Perth Scorchers
Predicted XI: Colin Munro, Cameron Bancroft, Kurtis Patterson, Laurie Evans, Ashton Turner, Aaron Hardie, Ashton Agar, Andrew Tye, Matthew Kelly, Jason Behrendorff, Peter Hatzoglou
Englishman Tymal Mills is still unavailable for Saturday’s game due to quarantine restrictions, so the Scorchers will likely retain the same eleven that defeated the Heat by six runs on Wednesday.
It was an old school Scorchers performance on Wednesday night, defending an under par score with some incredibly disciplined bowling. A late cameo from Xavier Bartlett made things interesting, but the Scorchers were in control for the majority of the clash with Matthew Kelly (4/28) and Ashton Agar (1/16) leading the way.
Kurtis Patterson (55), Laurie Evans (33*), Ashton Turner (28) and Cameron Bancroft (25) gave the Scorchers a platform to launch from, however their lack of depth in their lower middle order saw them restricted to 3/20 in the final four overs. Colin Munro was dismissed cheaply, so there’s still good scope for their batting to improve.
The Strikers batting line up is incredibly top heavy, so this Scorchers bowling attack should be very confident that they can do some serious damage on Saturday night.
Adelaide Strikers
Predicted XI: Matt Short, Jake Weatherald, Harry Nielsen, Jonathan Wells, Daniel Drew, Liam Scott, George Garton, Rashid Khan, Daniel Worrall, Wes Agar, Peter Siddle
The Strikers bounced back with a win in the return fixture against the Renegades, on the back of a quality performance from their bowling attack. The Strikers front line bowlers in Dan Worrall (4.91), George Garton (6.33), Rashid Khan (4.25), Wes Agar (5.67) and Peter Siddle (3.67) all bowled with outstanding economy rates to bowl out the Renegades for 100.
The Strikers batting has been a concern, failing to capitalise on good starts in both of their games so far this season. The Strikers have scored 2/82 and 3/86 between overs 1-10 in their first two games, but have scored only 6/69 and 7/63 in overs 11-20 in both games.
Daniel Gibson’s injury has shortened an already undermanned batting order for the Strikers. With Daniel Drew and Liam Scott having a combined four games of Big Bash experience between them, the 5 and 6 spots are vulnerable places. This lack of depth has created the two middle order collapses the Strikers have suffered this season. Opposing teams will know if they can get early wickets, they can run right through the Strikers.
Match Prediction
The strength of both of these sides lies in their bowling, with their batting lineups decimated by national selections. This game will come down to the performances of the top four from each side, given the lack of depth in the batting stocks for each team.
Colin Munro, Ashton Turner and Kurtis Patterson have the edge over their Strikers counterparts at the top of the order. The Strikers will be competitive at home this season, but games away from the Adelaide Oval will be a challenge for their inexperienced batting group.
The Scorchers bowling attack of Behrendorff, Kelly, Tye, Agar and Hatzoglou will be too good for the decimated Strikers side, especially given the dimensions of the Sydney Showground Stadium sharing similar ground dimensions to Optus Stadium. The long square boundaries will suit the length bowling that the Scorchers love to bowl, and will be tough for the Strikers who are accustomed to the short square boundaries in Adelaide.
Same Game Multi
Jake Weatherald has scored more runs than any current player in games between the Scorchers and the Strikers with 243 runs at an average of 27. Weatherald has reached the 10 run mark in 70% of his innings since BBL07, and has hit double figures in his last ten innings. Weatherald has also hit at least one six in 51% of his innings, the most of any Strikers player.
To round out the multi, we’re going with Colin Munro to score 20+ runs. Munro scored 443 runs at an average of 31 to be the fifth highest run scorer in BBL10. Munro has passed the 20 run mark in 53% of his innings, the most of any Scorchers player that has played more than one game.
Weatherald 10+ Runs
Weatherald 1+ Six
Munro 20+ Runs
SCO vs STR Same Game Multi
$3.10
