Adelaide Strikers vs Brisbane Heat Big Bash preview and prediction

The Adelaide Strikers and Brisbane Heat lock horns in a New Year’s Eve blockbuster at Adelaide Oval tonight. Here is my full preview as well as The Prophet’s pick.

Adelaide Strikers vs Brisbane Heat at Adelaide Oval
Head-to-head: Adelaide Strikers 3, Brisbane Heat 3
Last five: Brisbane Heat 3, Adelaide Strikers 2

Adelaide Strikers 13-man squad
Travis Head (c), Wes Agar, Alex Carey, Jono Dean, Colin Ingram, Rashid Khan, Ben Laughlin, Jake Lehmann, Michael Neser, Peter Siddle, Billy Stanlake, Jake Weatherald, Jonathan Wells,

Brisbane Heat 13-man squad
Brendon McCullum (c), Ben Cutting, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Gannon, Sam Heazlett, Shadab Khan, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Lalor, Chris Lynn, Jimmy Peirson, Alex Ross, Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson, Yasir Shah

A new look Strikers team has come out of the blocks firing in BBL07, beating both Sydney teams, the Sixers and the Thunder, to open the season.

The Heat rebounded from their hammering at the hands of the Renegades to narrowly scrape over the line against the Thunder with just one ball to spare at The Gabba on Wednesday night.

Big batting battle – Alex Carey vs Chris Lynn
I didn’t think I would be including the name of Alex Carey in a big batting battle this year, however the makeshift opener has proved a smash hit through two games so far this season.

Carey scored 44 against the Thunder, before carrying his bat against the Sixers with a stylish 83 not out from 59 balls.

Chris Lynn returned with somewhat of a bang in his first game of the season, smashing 26 from 9 balls before holing out in the deep.

Lynn showed no sign of nerves on his return, smashing 14 from his first 4 balls, showing he remains one of the most destructive players in the country when on song.

(AAP Image/Dan Peled)

Big bowling battle – Yasir Shah vs Rashid Khan
The Brisbane Heat have included replacement International player Yasir Shah to their side as he looks to make an immediate impact.

Shah has a good T20 record with his leg breaks, taking 67 wickets from 79 games with an economy rate under 7.

Rashid Khan has been outstanding in the Strikers first two games taking identical figures of 2/22 from his 4 overs against both the Thunder and Sixers.

Khan perhaps bowls a little flatter and faster than Shah, but both bowlers have outstanding variations and will be key weapons for their sides in determining the outcome of the game.

Ground dynamic – Adelaide Oval
Usually we get a pretty true wicket at the Adelaide Oval, so I wouldn’t expect anything different in this marquee New Years Eve matchup.

The Strikers looked set for a huge total against the Thunder before struggling in the final 10 overs to settle on 163.

With the straight boundaries far bigger, expect the fast bowlers to bowl a lot fuller length than they do at some other grounds around the country.

The Prophet’s pick (5-6) – Adelaide Strikers
“The Prophet needs a winner desperately so I’m hoping the Strikers can fire in front of a massive crowd. Expecting Big Billy to take a couple key Heat wickets to give the home side the edge.”

The Prophet’s 10-unit bank (Running Tally = -38 Units)

• 4 Units Strikers by 1-20 runs or 1-4 wickets at $6.50
• 2 Units Colin Ingram to score 25+ at $2
• 2 Units Alex Ross to score 25+ at $2.30
• 1 Unit Billy Stanlake most wickets for the Strikers at $5.50
• 1 Unit high bat double Head/McCullum at $14