Brisbane Heat v Sydney Thunder @ Manuka Oval
These two sides will be looking to bounce back after opening round defeats. Both sides played and lost to the Melbourne Stars in their opening games so that does help somewhat with lining up their “form”.
In the end the Stars were just a little bit too classy for the Thunder who were okay with both bat and ball. Had their best player in Usman Khawaja not of received a poor umpiring decision, perhaps they would of got closer than the 22 run final margin. He was given out caught behind on 7, when replays showed he clearly hadn’t hit the ball.
The Heat were less competitive in their clash with the Stars. They were bowled out for 125 and aside from Chris Lynn (20) are looking very thin with the bat. The Stars managed to chase their target four wickets down with just under 3 overs to go.
The $1.75 on offer for the Thunder here looks pretty good shopping. It wouldn’t surprise to see them shorten further before the first ball is bowled tonight.
Hobart Hurricanes v Adelaide Strikers @ Blundstone Arena
It is a different looking season this year with hub set ups in NSW and Tasmania due to the pandemic. This means strange fixturing and there is no better example than this clash. These two sides met on Sunday and are now playing again two days later!
We suggested a bet on the Hurricanes on Sunday and they managed to get the points in an interesting game of cricket. Batting first Hobart made 174 from their allocated 20 overs. D’arcy Short continued his BBL domination of recent years making 72 from 48 balls at the top of the order. This included an over where he took leg spinner Rashid Khan for 25, a rare feat. Credit to Khan who did well to fight back and keep his economy rate at under 10 an over for his allotted four overs. Short’s opening partner Will Jacks who was coming off a duck on debut showed good signs. He made 34 and hit the ball as cleanly as anyone.
In reply Adelaide lost early wickets and slumped to 9/102. Former Australian Test Opener Matt Renshaw (33) was the only player in their top 7 to make double figures. Faulkner, Meredith and veteran Johan Botha did the early damage with the ball for Hobart. Then an amazing last wicket partnership of 61 between Daniel Worrall (62 off 39) and Danny Briggs (35 off 18) saw the Strikers fall just 11 runs short.
There is no reason to jump off the Hurricanes in this game. They retain the advantage of playing on their home ground and they are looking well balanced with both bat and ball.
Suggested Betting Strategy
Brisbane Heat v Sydney Thunder – 2 Units | Sydney Thunder @ $1.75
Hobart Hurricanes v Adelaide Strikers – 1 Unit | Hobart Hurricanes @ $1.90
Hobart Hurricanes v Adelaide Strikers – .5 Unit | Will Jacks Top Run Scorer for Hobart Hurricanes @ $4.50
*Please note the maximum outlay on a single outcome is 2.5 units