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Big Bash League: Brisbane Heat vs Perth Scorchers preview, analysis

21st December, 2013
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Brisbane Heat bowler Alister McDermott bowls. AAP Image/Dave Hunt
Roar Guru
21st December, 2013
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Of all the opening round fixtures in the Big Bash League this year, the rematch of last year’s Grand Final between the Brisbane Heat and the Perth Scorchers is perhaps the most intriguing of them all.

The Heat finished the victors by 34 runs when they won the league last year and will no doubt enter as favourites this time around as well.

But the visitors will no doubt fancy their chances of pulling off a shock result as some of their underrated stars step into the limelight.

Full Preview
Date: Sunday, December 22, 2013
Time: 7:15pm AEDT (6:15pm local time)
Venue: Gabba, Brisbane
TV: Live coverage via Network Ten

Previous Encounters
Dec. 29, 2011 — Scorchers (8/162) def. Heat (6/152) by 10 runs
Dec. 18, 2012 — Scorchers (1/51) def. Heat (4/109) by 9 wickets, D/L method
Jan. 19, 2013 — Heat (5/167) def. Scorchers (9/133) by 34 runs

Team Squads (final lineups announced later in week)
Brisbane Heat — James Hopes (capt.), Alister McDermott, Ben Cutting, Cameron Gannon, Chris Hartley, Chris Lynn, Chris Sabburg, Dan Christian, Daniel Vettori, Joe Burns, Luke Pomersbach, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Nick Buchanan, Peter Forrest, Ryan Harris, Shane Watson, Craig Kieswetter

Perth Scorchers — Mitch Marsh (capt.), Shaun Marsh, Hilton Cartwright, Sam Whiteman, Liam Davis, Brad Hogg, Simon Katich, Alfonso Thomas, Tom Triffitt, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Michael Beer, Dwayne Smith, Adam Voges, Aston Turner, Joel Paris, Jason Behrendorff, Ashton Agar

THREE STARS TO WATCH FOR
Mitch Marsh, Perth Scorchers
Look for Marsh to lead from the front here against the Heat and once again show his tremendous qualities in the shorter versions of the game.

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Marsh was the second-highest run-scorer in 2011/12, with his impressive average of 51.50 one of the key reasons why Perth made it all the way to the Grand Final.

Injury kept him out of the entire competition in 2012/13 but he should be perfectly good to go this year, and will no doubt be looking to kick off his tournament in style with a classy knock. Capable of picking up a key wicket or two with the ball too.

Chris Lynn, Brisbane Heat
Lynn is quickly becoming one of the top young batsmen to watch in domestic cricket, and the Brisbane Heat star will certainly be looking to extend that with a strong showing this year in the Big Bash.

With a first-class average of 43.25 and three half-centuries to his name in the T20 cricket already, Lynn is definitely capable of building on what he achieved in the competition last year, where he finished as the team’s fourth-highest run-scorer at a strike-rate of 144.62.

Ben Cutting, Brisbane Heat
Cutting was one of the top wicket-takers in the competition last year with 13 from his nine matches at an impressive average of 14.00, and will certainly be a major threat to watch for again this year.

The 26-year-old is also a very handy batter to have (with a first class-century to his name and a blistering 98 not out in the RYOBI Cup as well), and is certainly capable of making a huge impact for the home team here in either innings as a result.

The Last Word…
“Kato [Simon Katich] and I agreed last year that we’ve got unfinished business — we lost the final; the second losing final — so we’re after that winning final this time around. I hope that I can bring a bit of experience to some of the younger players as they develop and we look to chase that win…” (Scorchers bowler Brad Hogg via Herald Sun)

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