Brisbane Heat vs Hobart Hurricanes: BBL07 preview and prediction

Two in-form teams collide when the Hobart Hurricanes visit the Brisbane Heat at The Gabba on Wednesday night. Here is my full preview, including The Prophet’s pick.

Brisbane Heat (4-2) vs Hobart Hurricanes (3-2) at The Gabba
Head-to-head: Hobart Hurricanes 6, Brisbane Heat 4 
Last five: Hobart Hurricanes 3, Brisbane Heat 2 
 
Brisbane Heat (squad)
Brendon McCullum (c), Ben Cutting, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Gannon, Sam Heazlett, Yasir Shah, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Lalor, Jake Prestige, Jimmy Peirson, Alex Ross, Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson
 
Hobart Hurricanes (squad)G
George Bailey (c), Dan Christian, Cameron Boyce, Clive Rose, Ben McDermott, Jake Reed, Simon Milenko, Tymal Mills, D’Arcy Short, Jofra Archer, Matthew Wade, Nathan Reardon, Alex Doolan

The Heat are sitting in fourth spot on the table at four and two after back-to-back convincing wins over the Stars and Scorchers to get their season back on track.

The Hurricanes are emerging as a dark horse in BBL07 after three straight victories elevated them to the cusp of the top 4, after losing their first two.
 
Big batting battle: Brendon McCullum vs D’Arcy Short
Two in-form explosive opening batsmen here in pocket rockets Brendon McCullum and D’Arcy Short.

McCullum has bounced back to form in the past couple of games with scores of 61 and 32 as he leads from the front in his second season captaining the Heat.

D’Arcy Short is best batsman in the competition at the moment, having racked up scores of 96, 97 and 42 in his last three games to put his name firmly in the frame for Australian T20 selection. 

(AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)

 
Big bowling battle: Brendan Doggett v Jofra Archer
Again, two similar fast bowlers who like to crank it up in Brendan Doggett and Jofra Archer.

Doggett has bowled with genuine speed and McCullum uses him as an out and out strike weapon, with the paceman running through the Scorchers for career-best figures of 5 for 35 from his four overs.

Archer has been outstanding for the Hurricanes with his pace, control and ability to bowl the death overs. He will also enjoy bowling on a pitch like the Gabba with a bit more pace in it. 
 
Ground Dynamic: The Gabba
The Gabba remains the best place to bat in the competition. The Heat have scored over 180 in two of their three starts there, and it’s clear McCullum lets his side go hard throughout, unlike some teams that like to build an innings.

The spinners will need to bowl flatter, and a touch shorter here, to avoid being driven down the ground towards the short straight boundaries. 
 
The Prophet’s pick (12-11): Brisbane Heat
“The Heat are hard to toss at home. Plus, I can’t see the ‘Canes winning four straight” 

The Prophet’s ten-unit bank (running tally = -42 units 

• 4 Wickets Heat to win by 21-40 runs or 5-7 wickets at $4
• 3 Units George Bailey to score 25+ runs at $2
• 1.5 Units Heat high bat/bowler double of McCullum/Swepson at$13.50
• 1.5 Units Hurricanes high bat/bowler double of Wade/Archerat $17.50