The first round of the 2017-18 Big Bash League is in the books. Not only did we have some thrilling finishes in Round 1 but we also had some upset results. We’ll be hoping to capitalise on that unpredictability here as we preview the four games in Round 2 of BBL07.
BBL07 Round 2 Betting Tips
Sydney Sixers vs Perth Scorchers (Saturday 4.10pm AEDT)
A rematch of last years Grand Final gets round two underway as the Sixers host the Scorchers in the first game of a Saturday night double header. The Scorchers are yet to play a game in BBL07 while the Sixers will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing loss to the Thunder in the opening game of the season.
Sydney’s thrilling game against the Thunder came down to the very last ball, in which the Thunder needed just one run to win. Unfortunately for the Sixers, they couldn’t hold on to force a super over. Johan Botha, Sean Abbot and Doug Bollinger will all look to improve this game after posting economy rates of 8+ against the Thunder. The revelation of the game for the Sixers, however, was young paceman Daniel Sams, who kept Sydney in the game with his marvellous spell of 4-14 off four overs.
Perth are very much an unknown quantity coming into their opening match. Sure they are the reigning premiers, but they’ll be without both the Marsh brothers, and possibly without their BBL06 leading run scorer Michael Klinger, who has stated he will be putting cricket on hold to tend to his wife who is battling cancer. Without the three stars, along with Cam Bancroft, the Scorchers batting lineup looks a little thin and a bulk of the workload will fall on on the shoulders of Hilton Cartwright and Adam Voges. Hard to bet against the reigning premiers but with Perth being away from home with a few key missing players, we like the Sixers to bounce back and earn victory here.
TIP: Sydney Sixers to win - $1.58 at Sportsbet
Melbourne Renegades vs Brisbane Heat (Saturday 7.25pm AEDT)
The second leg of the Saturday night double header sees two teams who earned great victories in round one in the Renegades and Heat square off. The Heat looked great in Round 1, posting a mammoth total of 206 against the Melbourne Stars, all without the services of star top order batsman Chris Lynn. Brendan McCullum, Joe Burns, Alex Ross and Ben Cutting were all fantastic in the Heat’s innings, and while a Marcus Stoinis lead charge from the Stars helped them to within 15 runs of the Heat, ultimately the 206 was too much.
The Melbourne Renegades also secured a great win, all set up by a great first innings bowling performance by import Dwayne Bravo. Bravo took 5-28 off his four overs to keep help keep the Hurricanes to just 164, a total that was chased down in the 19th over by the Renegades after a brilliant knock by Cameron White and some good role playing innings by Marcus Harris and Brad Hodge.
Extremely tough game to call here between two in form sides. The Heat will likely be without Chris Lynn again for this matchup after the star batsman stated he will be eyeing the Heat’s third game for a return. Aaron Finch was disappointing in game one for the Renegades, but don’t expect the opener to stay down for long. We think the team batting first has a massive advantage here but if we had to side with someone we’ll take Renegades to go 2-0 at home.
TIP: Melbourne Renegades to win - $1.65 at Sportsbet
Perth Scorchers vs Melbourne Stars (Tuesday 7.10pm AEDT)
The Perth Scorchers are back in action again after the Christmas break, and while at the time of writing this, they are still yet to play a game in BBL07, they will likely still be without a few key players for this Boxing Day clash. The Marsh brothers are locks for the Boxing Day Test match, ruling them out for the game, while Michael Klinger will be an uncertainty for the duration of the BBL.
The Melbourne Stars suffered a tough loss at the hands of the Heat in their opening game of the season. Marcus Stoinis was the shining light for the Stars, blasting 99 off just 51 balls to give Melbourne a glimmer of hope after the big three of Ben Dunk, Kevin Pietersen and Glenn Maxwell all failed with the bat. Ultimately the 137 run stand between Stoinis and James Faulkner wasn’t enough though, as the Stars fell 15 runs short.
Should be a great chance for the Stars top order to find some form here on a WACA wicket that has been an absolute road throughout the Shield and Australian Test summer. Some massive scores have been made on what is usually a bouncy deck which makes it tough to believe that the Stars top four will combine for just 37 runs again. We think they put up a monster total against an undermanned Perth team here to earn victory.
TIP: Melbourne Stars to win - $1.90 at Ladbrokes
Brisbane Heat vs Sydney Thunder (Wednesday 7.10pm AEDT)
The Brisbane Heat will be back in action Wednesday and its likely that Chris Lynn will be too. The top order batsman has targeted this game three against the Thunder as his likely return date from a groin injury, and to plug him into what is an already dominant Heat batting line-up, is a daunting proposition for most teams.
The Thunder had a great win in the opening game of the season against the Sixers but came crashing back to earth as they fell to the Adelaide Strikers in Adelaide in their second game. The Thunder were bowled out for just 110 chasing the Strikers total of 163. It seems that so much of the pressure to make runs falls on the shoulders of Shane Watson and Jos Buttler for the Thunder, and chasing big totals could be their downfall.
They’ll be on the road once again Wednesday and have opened as $2.15 underdogs for the clash. At home and with the possibility of Lynn coming back into the line-up, we can’t envision Brisbane scoring less than 170 here, which is just too many for this Thunder line-up. Brisbane to win here is the bet of the round at $1.70.
TIP: Brisbane to win - $1.70 at CrownBet
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