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Brisbane Heat and Melbourne Stars meet for the second time in a week in the Big Bash League. Heat won the last game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground with a four from the final ball and they are favourites to win this game as well with odds of 4/6 (1.67).
These odds from Ladbrokes were correct at the time of writing.
- Match 51, BBL 2022-23
- Sunday January 22nd, from 02:40 AM GMT
- The Gabba, Brisbane
Pitch Report and Weather Conditions
Contents
The pitch in Brisbane is always a quick one and we can expect to see a good number of runs for both sides. It is generally a graveyard for spinners but pace bowlers have a strong record on this wicket with Michael Neser picking up the Player of the Match Award here on Friday.
The forecast is for not a great deal of sunshine and plenty of cloud cover from start to finish in this game. A minimal risk of rain will fade as the game continues and the temperature will be no lower than 27 degrees throughout.
Brisbane Heat vs Melbourne Stars – Match Predictions
When the two teams met in Melbourne on Monday, they were in the bottom two places of the table, but Brisbane Heat have since moved up to fifth in the table and are well placed to qualify for the play-off stage. Heat have won three in a row and suddenly have confidence flowing through all of their players. On the other hand, the Stars can not qualify for the next stage and have won only one of their last six.
Prediction 1
Heat To Hit Most Sixes
4/5 (1.80)
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Odds from
Prediction 2
Hatcher To Take Most Wickets
10/3 (4.33)
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Odds from
Prediction 3
Neser to be Man of the Match
14/1 (15.00)
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Odds from
Probable 6s
In English opener Joe Clarke, Melbourne Stars have a talented player who has hit 16 sixes across the tournament. And with Beau Webster coming in at number four, with 11 sixes of his own in BBL12, they are not a team who will struggle to clear the boundary on a quick pitch.
However, Josh Brown knows only one way to play and will look to hit sixes at every opportunity from the top of the order for Brisbane Heat. Matt Renshaw struck four of his own against Melbourne Stars last Monday and will look to carry on where he left off after finishing unbeaten in that game.
We expect it to be close but are backing Brisbane Heat to give more catching practice to the fans in the crowd than Melbourne Stars.
Our prediction: Brisbane Heat to Hit Most Sixes 4/5 (1.80)
Probable Wickets
Liam Hatcher has built on an encouraging start to life in this tournament in BBL11 with another strong bowling performance in BBL12. The Melbourne Stars 26 year old right arm fast medium bowler has taken at least two wickets across each of his last five appearances and returned figures of 3-25 in Match 35 against Hobart Hurricanes. He took 13 wickets at a strike-rate of 16 in the 2021-22 season but has taken that rate down to 13.09 in this campaign with 11 wickets so far. Finally, in Monday’s match, he dismissed both of Brisbane Heat’s openers!
Our prediction: Liam Hatcher to Be the Highest Wicket Taker for Melbourne Stars 10/3 (4.33)
Man of the Match
The 32 year old right-arm medium fast bowler is one of the most reliable bowlers in Australian cricket and has had a very strong competition for Brisbane Heat. He took a hat-trick earlier in the season and has recorded figures of 3-27 and 4-25 (against Melbourne Stars) from his last two matches. He picked up two of Hobart Hurricanes’ top three in the last game at the Gabba and is targeting the Man of the Match Award for the second time in three days.
Our prediction: Michael Neser to Be the Man of the Match 14/1 (15.00)
Brisbane Heat vs Melbourne Stars Preview
The Sixers are looking for their fifth win in a row in BBL12 and their seventh win from their last nine games against Sydney Thunder. It was January 2021 when Thunder last beat their city rivals and they ended a three match losing run with their win over Melbourne Renegades in Match 47.
Brisbane Heat
With the victories suddenly coming along in one big streak, it would be a big surprise if Brisbane Heat made any changes to their XI ahead of this game.
Matt Renshaw has made scores of 90 not out and 41 from his last two innings and another big knock should be enough to secure a win and a place in the end of season play-offs (top five teams).
Michael Neser has been the leader of the bowling attack throughout BBL12 but has been well backed up by James Bazley (13 wickets) and Matthew Kuhnemann (11).
Playing XI: Josh Brown, Usman Khawaja (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Matt Renshaw, Sam Hain, Jimmy Peirson (wk), James Bazley, Michael Neser, Matthew Kuhnemann, Spencer Johnson, Mitchell Swepson
Melbourne Stars
The Stars have only two players in the top 16 run scorers in this Big Bash League, Joe Clarke and Beau Webster. But with strike-rates of 127.67 and 113.53 respectively, neither have looked likely to take a bowling attack apart.
Nathan Coulter-Nile and Liam Hatcher both come into this game with good figures from the last five matches. Captain Adam Zampa has been picking up wickets of late but spinners are rarely successful at the Gabba.
Playing XI: Joe Clarke (wk), Thomas Rogers, Hilton Cartwright, Beau Webster, Nick Larkin, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Seymour, Clint Hinchcliffe, Luke Wood, Liam Hatcher, Adam Zampa (c)
How to Watch Big Bash in the UK: Live Streaming & Channel List
For those on the move, this match can be watched on phones and other portable devices with Sky Go. If you want to watch the game from the comfort of your own home, put on Sky Sports Cricket for full coverage.
- Sky Sports Cricket (TV)
- Sky Go App (Streaming)
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