Night two of BBL12 sees a replay of The Challenger from BBL11, with the Adelaide Strikers hosting the Sydney Sixers at the Adelaide Oval. Can the Strikers get their redemption? Or will the Sixers pick up a win on the road?
Jack Tobin has you covered with a comprehensive preview and betting tips for Strikers vs Sixers, and be sure to check out our BBL Betting Tips for coverage of every game this season!
BBL12 Strikers vs Sixers Preview & Betting Tips
Adelaide Oval, Wednesday 14th December, 7:15pm (AEDT)
Adelaide Strikers
Predicted XI: Matt Short, Chris Lynn, Jake Weatherald, Adam Hose, Colin de Grandhomme, Rashid Khan, Thomas Kelly, Harry Nielsen, Wes Agar, Peter Siddle, Harry Conway
The Strikers come into BBL12 as one of the hardest sides to get a read on, the Strikers have lost two of the top 20 run scorers from BBL11 in Jon Wells (ranked 2nd, 501 runs at an average of 38) and Matthew Renshaw (ranked 19th, 306 runs at 34). With Travis Head and Alex Carey not available until the Strikers ninth game of the tournament at the earliest, it’s going to be an uphill battle with the bat early in the tournament. The inclusion of Chris Lynn looks good on surface, however Lynn has performed well under his best across the last few seasons.
Cameron Boyce has suffered a calf injury on the eve of the season meaning the Strikers won’t be able to play a leg spinning duo alongside Rashid Khan early in the tournament. Adelaide possess a strong bowling attack with the leading wicket taker in BBL11 in Peter Siddle (30 wickets), Rashid Khan (ranked 4th, 20 wickets), alongside Wes Agar and Harry Conway. With Kiwi Colin de Grandhomme giving the Strikers a quality option as the fifth bowler.
The Strikers are going to need their bowling attack to come up big early in the season, if they are a chance of playing finals, whilst there is going to be a mountain of pressure on Matt Short to carry the load with the bat. Short was the third most prolific run scorer in BBL11, scoring 493 runs at a strike rate of 155, and was utterly dominant in the powerplay. If the Strikers are to have any success this season, Short needs to produce some similar numbers as he did last season.
Sydney Sixers
Predicted XI: Josh Philippe, James Vince, Daniel Hughes, Moises Henriques, Jordan Silk, Hayden Kerr, Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Chris Jordan, Steve O’Keefe, Jackson Bird
The Sixers will be looking to go one better after an injury and covid riddled campaign prevented them from a genuine shot at a three peat. The Sixers have brought back Englishmen James Vince and acquired Chris Jordan, giving the Sixers arguably the strongest group of imports in the competition. The Sixers also pulled off one of the most underrated signings in the off-season, picking up Kurtis Patterson who scored 391 runs at a strike rate of 142 in BBL11.
Sydney have a mountain of depth across all facets, with Jordan Silk, Dan Christian and Kurtis Patterson potentially fighting for one spot in the side. How the Sixers plan to structure their all-rounders in Dan Christian, Hayden Kerr and Sean Abbott will have a large say on the make up of their 11. Kerr and Abbott played largely as bowlers last season, however given the inclusion of Chris Jordan it is going to be tough to fit Kerr, Abbott and Christian all in the same side.
The Sixers will have the opportunity during the season to run with a spin duo of Todd Murphy and Steve O’Keefe, with the Victorian youngster having a superb start to the season at Sheffield Shield and at List A level. The Sixers depth is the envy of the competition, and there’s no doubt they’ll be featuring at the business end this season.
Match Prediction
The Sixers have absolutely dominated this matchup across the last five years, winning eight of the last nine meetings between the two sides. The Strikers are going to be heavily reliant on their bowling attack in this clash, however it’s hard to see their batting unit putting up a winning score against a quality Sixers side.
Despite beginning their campaign on the road, the Sixers balance with both bat and ball will be too much for the Strikers. The Sixers have won their season opener in three of the last four seasons, and will continue that form in Adelaide on Wednesday night.
Sydney Sixers
$1.66 (1.5 Units)
BBL12 Same Game Multi
Our BBL Data Tools show Strikers opener Matt Short has scored 20+ runs in six of his last eight BBL games, scoring 308 runs at an average of 44. Short goes hard in the power play with the fielders up, and will be looking to get the Strikers off to a flyer on Wednesday night.
Across the last three seasons Josh Philippe has established himself one of the premier ball strikers in the BBL, backing up his player of the tournament campaign in BBL10, hitting 16 sixes in BBL11, ranking 9th in the competition. With short square boundaries on offer at the Adelaide Oval, Philippe will have a big opportunity to clear the ropes early on.
To round out the same game multi, we’re going with the first dismissal to be caught, which was vastly successful for punters last season.
Matt Short 20+ runs
Josh Philippe to hit a six
First wicket - caught
