New year, same old Melbourne Stars. The team in green have disappointed again in BBL12, and they will be looking to put an end to their winless streak with a victory over the third-placed Strikers.
Adelaide have won two on the trot in impressive fashion, so it will be an uphill battle for Adam Zampa and his men.
Josh Nevett provides his full match preview and BBL12 betting tips below.
BBL12 Stars vs Strikers Preview & Betting Tips
MCG, Thursday 12th January, 7:15pm (AEDT)
Melbourne Stars
Predicted XI: Joe Clarke, Tom Rogers, Hilton Cartwright, Beau Webster, Nick Larkin, James Seymour, Clint Hinchliffe, Luke Wood, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Liam Hatcher, Adam Zampa
This season was always going to be tough for the Stars without the services of Glenn Maxwell, but the recent loss of Marcus Stoinis has made it doubly difficult for the green machine to bank wins.
While the Melbourne bowling unit is doing its best to give the Stars a chance in games, the absence of Maxwell and Stoinis with the bat has left the batting line-up without a matchwinner.
This was on display on Monday night, when the Stars fell to the Hurricanes by two wickets. Hilton Cartwright (57 off 47) excelled in his new role at first drop, but the likes of Clarke, Rogers and Larkin all failed as Melbourne put up just 131.
The bowlers performed admirably – Liam Hatcher took 3-25 and Coulter-Nile also snagged two wickets – but totals in the 130s and 140s just don’t cut it at this level.
It’s hard to see the Stars turning things around without their seasoned leaders, and this campaign looks like it will fizzle out just as previous seasons have.
Adelaide Strikers
Predicted XI: Matt Short, Ryan Gibson, Henry Hunt, Adam Hose, Thomas Kelly, Harry Nielsen, Ben Manenti, Henry Thornton, Cameron Boyce, Wes Agar, Peter Siddle
The Strikers are back in business after consecutive victories against the Hurricanes and Renegades.
Local stars Chris Lynn and Matt Short have led the way – the pair are ranked #1 and #2 for runs scored this season with 393 and 359, respectively – and the Strikers are now locked with the Thunder and Renegades on 10 points.
Despite not playing the last game, Henry Thornton is also still ranked equal #2 on the wicket-taking charts, so there is a lot to smile about for the Strikers.
However, the Strikers will be challenged by unavailability’s heading into this clash with the lowly Stars.
Chris Lynn and Colin De Grandhomme both left the field injured on Tuesday night, and I expect both to miss this game, while Alex Carey and Travis Head won’t be available to play until Saturday.
That leaves the Strikers with a massive hole in their batting ranks, so it will be interesting to see how they structure their side on Thursday.
Match Prediction
Thursday night will see a battle between two understrength sides.
The Strikers have plenty of runs on the board this season, so they can afford to drop a game here, but for the Stars this is last chance saloon.
I expect both teams to field very weak batting line-ups, so this game could be decided by one brilliant individual performance. Matt Short has been the guy for Adelaide, but his record away from home isn’t great, while Melbourne’s Joe Clarke has been off the boil for a while.
However, in Cartwright and Webster, I think the Stars have enough batting weapons to score a rare win on their home turf in this one.
The Stars have also won their last five matches against the Strikers at the MCG, a significant stat in the context of our head-to-head prediction.
Melbourne Stars
$2.30 (2 Units)
Same Game Multi
Both teams will likely be missing big-name power hitters for this game, so let’s have a look at what’s left. For Adelaide, Short is the only real six hitter that I can see, whereas the Stars can call upon Clarke, Cartwright, Webster, and even Coulter-Nile to clear the rope. As such, Melbourne should clean up this market.
The Stars have had the top run scorer in five of their last six matches against the Strikers.
Cartwright has been in solid form recently, scoring 20+ runs in five of his last six matches. The big-hitting right-hander has been given more responsibility in the absence of Stoinis and Maxwell, so expect him to make a contribution if the Stars are to get up on Thursday.
Most Sixes – Melbourne Stars
Team of Top Run Scorer – Melbourne Stars
Player to Score 20+ Runs – Hilton Cartwright
