The first game on Saturday for Twenty20 Big Bash Round 6 is between Brisbane Heat and Melbourne Stars. The opening ball is set to commence at 19:15pm with the game to be played at GABBA. The favourite for the match is away team Melbourne Stars. View our preview and teams for the game between Brisbane Heat and Melbourne Stars.
When: 19:15 | Saturday 11/01/2014
Where: GABBA
Brisbane Heat $2.41 vs Melbourne Stars $1.55 at Sportsbet Australia get a $250 FREE BET on this match
Brisbane Heat $2.55 vs Melbourne Stars $1.52 at Luxbet Australia get a $500 FREE BET on this match
Odds Comparison:
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| Brisbane Heat | 2.41 | 2.40 | 2.55 | 2.40 | 2.41 | 2.45 |
| Melbourne Stars | 1.55 | 1.57 | 1.52 | 1.57 | 1.55 | 1.55 |
All odds are subject to change. Odds listed are correct at the time of the latest update.
Teams:
Preview:
Overview
They’re back in the points, the Brisbane Heat, and the quest to defend their BBL|02 title doesn’t get any easier than hosting the runaway competition leaders, the Melbourne Stars.
The Stars were ruthless in their compete dismantling of the Adelaide Strikers at the MCG on Thursday night, chasing down their target score of 91 in just 7.3 overs to record an emphatic eight-wicket win. When players the calibre of David Hussey and Brad Hodge are reduced to on-field spectators – or commentators, in Hodge’s case – then your team is going pretty well.
Brisbane bowled superbly well to defend their 165 against Sydney Thunder on Wednesday night, taking the last five Thunder wickets for just 12 runs in 12 balls. The Heat will need to be at the top of their game again to keep the Stars under wraps.
Melbourne have lost Glenn Maxwell, James Faulkner, and Clint McKay to the Australian ODI side for the series against England, while Brisbane will still be without Ashes heroes Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson, who will carry on terrorising the Poms in the coloured gear.
Brisbane are also really excited by the prospect of a new ground record for an Australian domestic Twenty20 clash, with ticket sales already well up even before the Stars big win on Thursday night. The ‘Gabba record stands at 29,241, quite coincidently set at a Heat-Stars game in BBL|01. Get to the ‘Gabba, Brisbane, let’s crack another ground record for BBL|03!
Key Battle: Chris Lynn v Luke Wright
A real battle of the blasters, this one, with Lynn leading the BBL|03 fence-clearing tally on 14 tournament sixes, and Wright fifth on the list with nine. And a real ‘odd couple’ battle too, with Lynn having one of more technically correct power-hitting games of the young gun batsmen around the country, while aesthetically, and I say this in the nicest possible way, Wright gives hope to park sloggers the world over. If either get going, though, the opposition bowlers are in for a rough night.
Dark Horse: Dan Christian
He sits second on the Heat run-scoring tally, third in their batting averages, and is striking every three overs with the ball, too. Christian’s equally capable of knocking over stumps, as he is raining sixes into the crowd, and it’s a major reason why at the time of writing, he’s been selected in almost 4500 Fantasy Big Bash League teams, covering 12.58% of all BBL|03 fantasy teams. A brilliant fielder too, Christian is just about the ideal T20 player.
Last Time
January 3, 2013 @ the ‘Gabba: A really good batting effort from Brisbane saw them post 5/171, with solid contributions throughout. Chris Hartley and skipper James Hopes added 63 for the second wicket, and Dan Christian and Chris Lynn added the late fireworks with 43 for the fifth wicket from 27 balls.
In reply, Melbourne looked on track, but lost 3/14 in the middle order to kill all momentum, from which the Heat closed the game out beautifully, conceding just 3 runs from the last ten balls and taking two wickets in the process. Hopes and Sri Lankan international Thisara Perera finished with three wickets apiece.
Squads
Heat: James Hopes (c), Alister McDermott, Ben McDermott, Ben Cutting, Chris Lynn, Craig Kieswetter, Dan Christian, Dan Vettori, Peter Forrest, Luke Pomersbach, Cameron Gannon, Chris Sabburg, Mark Steketee
Stars: Cameron White (c), Jackson Bird, John Hastings, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Lasith Malinga, James Muirhead, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Luke Wright, Scott Boland, Alex Keath, Rob Quiney.
Facts and Figures
Lanky Heat paceman Cameron Gannon was the chief, albeit late destroyer against the Thunder on Wednesday night. Coming on in the 14th over, Gannon produced new BBL|03 best bowling figures of 4/10 from 2.2 overs, to wrap up the game in less than five overs.
The Stars dominance of BBL|03 thus far is no better illustrated than their five winning margins: 76 runs v Renegades; 77 runs v Sixers; 7 wickets v Thunder; 9 wickets v Renegades, and 8 wickets v Strikers. Their Net Run Rate currently stands at a resounding +3.27. A home semi-final is all but their already.
Brisbane have ruled out off-spinner Nathan Hauritz the Stars clash, after the former Australian spinner aggravated a calf injury in warm-ups before Wednesday night’s win over the Sydney Thunder. With the short turn-around time between matches, was not considered for selection, and instead, young wicket-keeper/batsman Ben McDermott – brother of Alister, son of Craig – has been added to the Heat squad.
The Stars’ big win over the Strikers on Thursday night was one of five in the history of Twenty20 cricket to have been completed with 75 balls to spare. Though this was the biggest win in BBL history, in terms of most balls remaining, it’s a long way off the T20 record, which stands at 100 balls to spare!
Broadcast: from 7:30pm AEDT on Channel Ten, and on Fairfax Radio Network.
Source: www.bigbash.com.au