After finishing third and fourth respectively, the Brisbane Heat and Hobart Hurricanes will have to do things the hard way if they are to take out season eight of the WBBL.
Hobart claimed bragging rights the last time these two teams met, but anything can happen in the pressure cooker of a big final.
Josh Nevett takes a close look at the contest with his free WBBL preview and cricket betting tips below.
WBBL08 Heat vs Hurricanes T20 Preview & Betting Tips
Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide, Wednesday November 23rd, 7:10pm (AEDT)
Squads
Brisbane Heat: Jess Jonassen, Lucy Hamilton, Nicola Hancock, Grace Harris, Mikayla Hinkley, Ellie Johnston, Jess Kerr, Amelia Kerr, Charlie Knott, Grace Parsons, Georgia Redmayne, Courtney Grace Sippel, Pooja Vastrakar, Georgia Voll, Danni Wyatt, Laura Harris
Hobart Hurricanes: Julia Cavanough, Nicola Carey, Mignon du Preez, Maisy Gibson, Heather Graham, Ruth Johnston, Lizelle Lee, Emma Manix-Geeves, Hayley Silver-Holmes, Amy Smith, Naomi Stalenberg, Molly Strano, Rachel Trenaman, Elyse Villani, Issy Wong, Hayley Jensen
Match Preview
It’s a massive week of cricket in WBBL08, with Brisbane, Hobart, Adelaide Strikers and Sydney Sixers set to battle it out for WBBL glory in three huge finals.
The winner of this game will progress to face Adelaide on Thursday night, with the winner of that game qualifying for the big dance in Sydney on Saturday night.
The hosts for this game, Brisbane, have been a batting powerhouse, scoring 1994 runs across the tournament (second only to Sydney with 2021).
Georgia Redmayne has been the standout performer, with 333 runs to her name at nearly 42. Redmayne has also starred behind the stumps, snaring four catches and seven stumpings in 10 matches.
The Heat also have three of the top 10 season wicket-takers – Nicola Hancock, Jess Jonassen and Amelia Kerr. The trio provide a variety of skills, allowing Brisbane to adapt to any game situation.
Hobart have relied less on batting prowess, making the final four despite scoring nearly 300 less runs than Brisbane over the campaign.
Mignon du Preez has been the shining light with bat in hand, scoring 366 runs to rank third in the competition.
Off-spinner Molly Strano has been the star with the ball, taking 18 wickets at an elite economy rate of 5.76. She will be hugely influential on the result of this final.
Aside from the batting differential, there is little to separate these two teams who have taken one win apiece in their head-to-head encounters this season.
Both teams have damaging weapons, but my gut says that Brisbane’s flexibility will be telling on Wednesday.
Brisbane Heat to win
$1.66
Prop Bets
Du Preez is fantastic value to top score for the team in purple on Wednesday. She has amassed 366 runs this season, the most of any Hobart player, and has top scored for the Hurricanes in their last three matches.
Hobart Hurricanes Top Run Scorer – Mignon du Preez - $5.20 at betr
Brisbane have performed well with the bat this season, often getting off to a good start. The Heat have three of the top 10 best opening partnerships for WBBL08, while Hobart have none. As such, Brisbane look great value here.
Highest Opening Partnership – Brisbane Heat - $1.90 at betr
