The Adelaide Strikers close out a hectic week of BBL12 fixtures with a clash against the Brisbane Heat at home on Saturday afternoon.
A couple of big names batsmen will be joining the Strikers squad for this one, so expect plenty of runs in this encounter!
Josh Nevett provides his full match preview and BBL12 betting tips below.
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BBL12 Strikers vs Heat Preview & Betting Tips
Adelaide Oval, Saturday 14th January, 4:00pm (AEDT)
Adelaide Strikers
Predicted XI: Matt Short, Alex Carey, Chris Lynn, Travis Head, Adam Hose, Colin De Grandhomme, Thomas Kelly, Henry Thornton, Cameron Boyce, Wes Agar, Peter Siddle
The Strikers fell back down to earth with a disappointing loss to the Stars on Thursday night.
Adelaide’s fragile batting line-up was exposed after Short and Lynn were dismissed early – the visitors were dismissed for just 108 batting first, with Harry Nielsen (40 off 33) providing the only resistance.
The Stars made the chase look easy, reaching the total just one wicket down with more than five overs in hand.
It really was a poor performance from Adelaide, after two impressive wins.
Nevertheless, Saturday provides a fantastic opportunity for the Strikers to bounce back and round out a busy week of matches on a high.
Aussie stars Travis Head and Alex Carey will return to the line-up for this one, silencing any concerns around the Strikers batting depth, while Chris Lynn will look to wrap up his spell down under with a big score at the Adelaide Oval.
With a heavily bolstered XI, I expect Adelaide to bounce back strongly in this one, as they mount a charge heading into the finals.
Brisbane Heat
Predicted XI: Usman Khawaja, Josh Brown, Marnus Labuschagne, Matt Renshaw, Sam Hain, Jimmy Pierson, James Bazley, Michael Neser, Xavier Bartlett, Matthew Kuhnemann, Spencer Johnson
It’s all but season over for the Heat who slumped to their sixth defeat against the Scorchers on Wednesday.
Batting first at home, Brisbane’s returning international trio were unable to make the desired impact – Khawaja scored 28, Renshaw 27 and Labuschagne just 9. As a result, the Heat only managed 155, an inadequate total for a venue like the batting friendly Gabba.
While the bowlers toiled hard, Perth got home just two wickets down. Young quick Spencer Johnson (0-22) was impressive on debut, beating the bat several times, Matt Kuhnemann (1-32) also returned decent figures.
While there’s not a huge amount for the Heat to play for now, they will want to close out the campaign strongly. English import Sam Hain comes into the squad for this one, and I expect him to snare a spot in the final XI.
On the bowling front, Brisbane have seemingly exhausted all their options and failed to find a penetrative, consistent and balanced attack, so it will be interesting to see what mix they take into this game.
Match Prediction
Both these sides will be stacked with stars on Saturday, so expect a fantastic spectacle.
This is the strongest squad that Adelaide have had all season, and they now arguably have the best batting group in the competition.
Meanwhile, it would be foolish to underrate the Heat who also have plenty of power at the top.
However, Adelaide were in great form until their last outing and they will have their sights firmly set on earning a highly coveted top-two spot heading into the finals.
The home crowd will be vocal as always, and Matt Short loves returning to the familiar surrounds of the Adelaide Oval.
For these reasons, the Strikers should be too strong.
Adelaide Strikers
$1.62 (3 Units)
Same Game Multi
This has been a great leg for us all season, and I’m going back to it tonight. In each of the Strikers’ last seven matches, the method of first dismissal has been caught.
Short has starred at home this season, regularly producing match-winning knocks. The powerful right-hander has scored 25+ runs in seven of his last eight matches at the Adelaide Oval.
If Short is going to fire, there is a fair chance he will be part of a solid opening partnership. Alex Carey will re-join Short at the top of the order for this one, and both have fantastic home BBL records.
Method of First Dismissal – Caught
Player to Score 25+ Runs – Matt Short
Highest Opening Partnership – Adelaide Strikers
