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The Adelaide Strikers will be looking to maintain their perfect start to the Big Bash League, but they will have to go through one of the pre-season favourites in the Brisbane Heat. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7:10pm (AEDT).
In the opening rounds of BBL07 the Strikers have thrown up a couple of surprises against the two Sydney sides that they have beaten.
Ahead of this year’s tournament, many had the Adelaide team struggling to avoid the wooden spoon. They lost a huge amount of talent in the off season and really didn’t seem to bring in many big names to replace them.
This has led to their first two batting performances being sub par for a team that would love to still be playing at the business end of the season.
Scores of 163 against the Thunder and 167 against the Sixers are relatively low and Alex Carey (the Striker’s top scorer so far this year) agrees that they should be posting targets up around the 190 mark, especially at home.
But what is surprising is that despite those two very average scores, their bowling and fielding has really stepped up and seen them unbeaten in the opening two matches.
The Strikers have two of the top six most economical bowlers in the competition so far – Khan at 5.50 runs per over and the veteran Siddle at a miserly 3.83 runs per over.
To beat the Heat they are going to need to restrain Chris Lynn and Brendon McCullum in particular, and fans should keep a close eye on how Travis Head looks to use the spin of Khan to slow down the Heat’s powerhouses.
What could cause problems for the Heat however is their bowling attack – it’s not as economical or destructive as it needs to be to keep the Heat competitive.
Shadab Khan has been impressive taking six wickets so far in the tournament but he’d also like to get his economy rate down a bit – it’s currently just over seven runs per over.
Unfortunately rumours are that Khan will be making way for Yasir Shah who hasn’t played yet in BBL07. The rest of the bowling line up for the Heat will need to step up – especially Brendan Doggett who has been one of the least economical bowlers in this year’s tournament so far.
Prediction
The Adelaide wicket should present both sets of batsmen with a good track to attack from and we should expect some high scores. While the Heat do have some great hitters their bowling attack does look vulnerable.
Expect to see the home side’s more balanced side take the points in this one – Strikers to win and be three from three as 2018 begins.
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