Sydney Thunder vs Perth Scorchers: BBL07 preview and prediction

The Thunder are in desperate need of a win as they host the Scorchers at Spotless Stadium tonight. Here is my full preview, as well as The Prophet’s pick.
 

Sydney Thunder (2-4) v Perth Scorchers (4-1) at Spotless Stadium
Head to Head History: Perth Scorchers 5, Sydney Thunder 1  
Last five: Perth Scorchers 4, Sydney Thunder 1 
 
Sydney Thunder squad
Shane Watson (c), Kurtis Patterson, Callum Ferguson, Usman Khawaja, Jay Lenton, Ben Rohrer, Chris Green, Fawad Ahmed, Arjun Nair, Mitch McClenaghan, Gurinder Sandhu, Andrew Fekete, James Vince
 
Perth Scorchers
Adam Voges (c), Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Tim Bresnan, Will Bosisto, Hilton Cartwright, Tim David, Mitchell Johnson, Michael Klinger, Matt Kelly, Hayden Morton, Joel Paris, Ashton Turner

 
The Thunder need a win or risk seeing their season slip right away when they host the high flying Perth Scorchers at Spotless Stadium tonight.

It is a must-win game for the Thunder if they want to stay in finals contention, having won just two from six, with the both the Heat and Hurricanes sitting two wins ahead of them in fourth and fifth spot respectively.

The Scorchers bounced back in style to get their fourth win in five games, chasing down a mammoth 186 against the Renegades at the WACA, to stay equal top of the table halfway through BBL07.
 
Big Batting Battle: Usman Khawaja v Ashton Turner
Two in-form batsmen here, with so much depending on Kwahaja returning to a desperate Thunder team, while Turner can become a genuine gun no. 4 batsman for the Scorchers.

Shane Watson has desperately needed help at the top of the order, and he finds it in Khawaja who is coming off an imperious 177 at the SCG. Khawaja has a good T20 record, averaging 31 from 55 games.

Ashton Turner scored a brilliant 70 from just 32 balls against the Renegades, to help clutch victory from the jaws of defeat for his side. Turner now has 197 runs at an average of 49, and a strike rate of 168 for the tournament. 
 

(AAP Image/Mal Fairclough)

Big Bowling Battle: Mitchell Johnson v Mitchell McClenaghan
Two aggressive left-arm fast bowlers in McClenaghan and Johnson battle it out here as their respective teams’ go-to men. McClenaghan is the Thunder’s equal leading wicket-taker with eight scalps from five games, and has brought some aggression and intent to the team’s bowling display this year.

However, he can be expensive at times.

Johnson is dominating games again this year up front, having taken 7/112 from 20 overs through five games. Batsmen appear intimidated by his pace and aura, and are simply trying not to get out in many respects.

He’s going for just 5.6 runs an over, making him a huge asset for the Scorchers in the bowling powerplay.  
 
Ground Dynamic: Spotless Stadium
This is the fourth game at Spotless this season, so you would perhaps expect some tiredness to creep into the wicket being used. Last match, the Thunder failed to chase down 163, with the Strikers limiting them to just 138.

I expect both teams’ spinners to play a big role and the seamers to use plenty of changes of pace, on a wicket that could well be on the slow side. I think the team batting first will be very competitive with a score of 160-165.
 
The Prophet’s Pick (12-12): Sydney Thunder
“Uz and my man Vince will add plenty of quality to this Thunder side. They desperately need a win while Perth don’t have the same need to win here. Thunder in an upset.”
 
The Prophet’s ten-unit bank (running tally = -52 Units) 

• 4 Units Sydney Thunder by 1-20 runs or 1-4 wickets @ $6
• 2 Units James Vince to Score 25+ runs in a Thunder win $3.75
• 2 Units Ashton Turner to score 25+ into a Scorchers win @ $3
• 1 Unit on Thunder high bat/bowler double of Watson/Ahmed @ $16
• 1 Unit on Scorchers high bat/bowler double of Klinger/Johnson @ $12