The Thunder host the Scorchers in a Friday night BBL12 Blockbuster at the Sydney Showground Stadium! It’s a battle of first versus fourth, and with how close the top five is, this is a crucial clash for both sides with not many games left in the season.
Jack Tobin has you covered with his preview for the top five clash, and for tips on every game this season, check out our BBL Tips page. And if you're having a dabble, why not bet with Dabble?
BBL12 Thunder vs Scorchers Preview & Betting Tips
Sydney Showgrounds Stadium, Friday 13th January, 6:30pm (AEDT)
Sydney Thunder
Predicted XI: Matthew Gilkes, David Warner, Sam Whiteman, Oliver Davies, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Ben Cutting, Nathan McAndrew, Chris Green, Brendan Doggett, Usman Qadir
With Alex Hales and Rilee Rossouw heading to the UAE and South African T20 leagues respectively, the top order for the Sydney Thunder is going to look very different for the back end of the tournament. The big positive for the Thunder is that they gain David Warner who returns from Test duties, to play his first BBL game since BBL03.
The Sydney Thunder’s four game winning streak came to an end at the hands of their crosstown rivals the Sydney Sixers, in a seven wicket defeat on Sunday. The Thunder never got going with the bat, however they were right in the game with three early wickets, before Moises Henriques and Jordan Silk put together a 109 run partnership to get the Sixers home with ease.
The Thunder slumped to 3/12 at the end of the power play, and despite a 64 run partnership between Sam Whiteman and Alex Ross, the damage was already done. Only three Thunder batsmen reached double figures, as they were restricted to 8/133. Although Whiteman played a solid role, there’s going to be a heavy reliance on David Warner to produce runs at the top of the order.
Perth Scorchers
Predicted XI: Cameron Bancroft, Stephen Eskinazi, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis, Ashton Turner, Nick Hobson, Ashton Agar, Matthew Kelly, Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff, Peter Hatzoglou
Josh Inglis (67* off 35) and Aaron Hardie (65* off 45) guided the Scorchers to a second straight convincing win over the Heat, to keep the Scorchers two games clear at the top of the BBL12 ladder. Inglis and Hardie’s 133 run partnership made light work in chasing the target of 155, despite being 2/25 when the duo came together.
The chase was set up by the Scorchers bowling attack once again, who did an outstanding job to restrict a Heat side featuring Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and Matthew Renshaw to 6/155. Jason Behrendorff (3/21) and Matt Kelly (2/17) were excellent at beginning and end of the innings respectively, on an excellent batting surface.
The Scorchers have three of the leading wicket takers in BBL12 with Andrew Tye (equal 1st, 17 wickets), Jhye Richardson (equal 3rd, 15 wickets) and Jason Berendorff (equal 3rd, 15 wickets). Despite getting Warner back, the Thunder have lost depth in their batting unit with Hales and Rossouw gone, and the Scorchers will be liking their chances against this Thunder side on a pitch that has been difficult to bat on this season in Sydney.
Match Prediction
It’s clear to see that the Scorchers loss against the Thunder last week was a blip on the radar, with two dominant wins in their last two games. The Thunder are 1-2 at home this season, and coming up against the best bowling attack in the competition, it’s hard to see them putting up a winning score at a ground they’ve struggled on this season.
Not only is the Scorchers bowling attack on fire, but their batting is beginning to come to the party, which makes them even more difficult to beat. The Scorchers will be eager to keep their distance from the logjam of teams between second and fifth on the ladder, and despite Warner coming into the Thunder side, they’ll be too strong in bowler friendly conditions.
Perth Scorchers
$1.68 (1.5 units)
Same Game Multi
To kick off the same game multi, we’re taking Jason Behrendorff to take 2+ wickets. Behrendorff has taken at least one wicket in each of his last eleven BBL games, and has taken twelve wickets in his last seven games. On a pitch where the new ball bowlers have dominated during BBL12, Behrendorff is going to be a nightmare for the Thunder top order.
Continuing with in-form Scorchers players, we’ve got Aaron Hardie to score 15+ runs. Hardie is in the midst of a breakout summer, across all three formats at the domestic level. In the last two games Hardie has been promoted to number three and has delivered in spades, with knocks of 65* and 57.
Rounding out the multi, we’ve got the first wicket in the first innings to be caught, which has occurred in 17 of the last 20 games in BBL12.
Jason Behrendorff 2+ Wickets
Aaron Hardie 15+ Runs
First Wicket Caught 1st Innings - Yes
