The 2023-24 Big Bash League continues on Wednesday night as the Brisbane Heat take on the Sydney Thunder at 7.15pm from the Gabba. As always, we have you covered with a full preview and betting tips for the clash below. Good luck to everyone following!
BBL13 Heat vs Thunder Betting Tips
Gabba, Wednesday December 27th, 7.15pm (AEDT)
Brisbane Heat
After falling narrowly short last season the Heat have started right where they left off, going winning three from three with one no result through their first four fixtures to sit atop the table. Bowling first, they kept the REnegades to just 162 in their clash last Thursday, before taking just 18.1 overs to chase the total four wickets down.
English import Paul Walter was fantastic with both bat and ball in the win, taking 3/27 off his foru overs before coming in at No.6 and scoring a swashbuckling 30 off just 15 balls to take player of the match honours. The addition of Walter to the middle order gives the Heat an extremely dynamic batting line-up that boasts true power hitters from top to bottom.
Heat Predicted XI: Josh Brown, Colin Munro, Nathan McSweeney, Matt Renshaw, Sam Billings, Paul Walter, Michael Neser, Xavier Bartlett, Spencer Johnson, Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitchell Swepson
Sydney Thunder
The Thunder lost their opening two games of the season to the Heat and Strikers, but bounced back on Friday night with a solid win over the Melbourne Stars. They now sit in fifth place on the BBL13 table but have an incredibly tough stretch coming up, with games against the top three teams in the Heat, Sixers and Scorchers over their next four.
The Thunder looked a touch off with the ball in their win over the Stars, allowing 172, a score that should have been more if not for some solid pressure late in the innings. Pakistani import Zaman Khan was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3/24 off his four overs. It was with the bat where the Thunder finally came to life, as all seven batsmen that were used reached double digits, led by openers Alex Hales (40) and Cameron Bancroft (30).
Thunder Predicted XI: Cameron Bancroft, Alex Hales, Jason Sangha, Oliver Davies, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Nathan McAndrew, Chris Green, Liam Hatcher, Zaman Khan, Tanveer Sangha
Match Prediction
I think these two teams are pretty evenly matched on paper. Both have strong batting line-ups but I just think the Heat’s bowling unit is a touch more polished at the moment, especially if Walter continues to perform like he did in their last game.
The two pronged spin attack of Kuhnemann and Swepson is probably the best in the BBL at the moment and Xavier Bartlett is one of the best exponents of swing bowling in the opening overs. I think the Heat should win this one at home, maintaining their place atop the table.
Brisbane Heat to win
$1.80 (1 unit)
Same Game Multi
Josh Brown has yet to break through for a decent score through the opening few games of the season but I think he is primed here. His two scores of 14 have driven the price up on his runscorer markets, but hes as good a chance as any in this Heat line-up to get off the leash.
Like pairing him with an opener on the other side here in Cameron Bancroft. Bancroft has been one of the standout batsmen in the competition so far, scoring 129 runs, surpassing 20 runs in all of his innings.
Josh Brown 20+ Runs
Cameron Bancroft 20+ Runs
