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The Melbourne Stars will be looking to end their dismal campaign with a win when they take on the finals-bound Hurricanes. Here is my full preview as well as the Prophet’s pick.
Melbourne Stars (1-8) vs Hobart Hurricanes (5-4) at the MCG
Head to head: Melbourne Stars 5, Hobart Hurricanes 2
Last five: Melbourne Stars 3, Hobart Hurricanes 2Melbourne Stars 13-man squad
John Hastings (c), Scott Boland, Ben Dunk, Jackson Coleman, James Faulkner, Peter Handscomb, Evan Gulbis, Ben Hilfenhaus, Kevin Pietersen, Seb Gotch, Liam Bowe, Daniel Worrall and Rob Quiney.Hobart Hurricanes 13-man squad
George Bailey (c), Dan Christian, Cameron Boyce, Clive Rose, Ben McDermott, Jake Reed, Simon Milenko, Tymal Mills, Tom Rogers, D’Arcy Short, Jofra Archer, Matthew Wade, Nathan Reardon and Alex Doolan.
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The Stars will be looking to finish a nightmare season on a high note when they take on the finals-bound Hurricanes at the MCG tonight. The Stars are cast adrift at the bottom of the table with just one win from nine games this season. It’ll be the team’s first wooden spoon and the first time they have missed the finals in BBL history.
The Hurricanes are all but assured of a finals spot for the first time in four years with 5-4 win-loss record, but they will be looking to rebound from back-to-back losses against the Strikers and Scorchers.
Big batting battle: Kevin Pietersen vs D’Arcy Short
Here we have one departing superstar against an emerging superstar. Kevin Pietersen will bid farewell to the Melbourne Stars and come up against explosive Hurricanes opening batsman D’Arcy Short.
Pietersen has been a fabulous signing for the Stars on and off the field over the past four years but has experienced a quiet and injury-laden BBL07. Short has been rewarded for a remarkable season with a call-up to the Australian T20 side. He has 500 runs for the season and is a near certainty to be the BBL player of the series.
(AAP)
Big bowling battle: James Faulkner vs Tymal Mills
It seems a long time ago that James Faulkner was an established go-to guy in the Australian ODI side. This BBL07 he has bizarrely bowled just 20 overs despite having played all nine games in a side that has struggled all season.
Tymal Mills has been a bit all over the place for the Hurricanes, having taken just six wickets and going at over nine runs per over. If the Hurricanes want to win a maiden title, one of their overseas imports will have to improve over the final week of the tournament.
Ground dynamic: the MCG
The MCG curator has produced some pretty good batting wickets in the BBL this season, but the Stars have struggled in their games at the MCG batting first this season, failing to score over 157, and the ground is not typically the highest scoring T20 venue with its vast expanses. I think the team batting first will be very competitive with a score of 165.
The Prophet’s pick (21-17): Hobart Hurricanes
“The Canes are just a better side and will be more motivated then a Stars side on holidays already.”
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