Round 1 of the Big Bash League Season 4 (BBL04) kicks off on Thursday evening with the Adelaide Strikers hosting the Melbourne Stars, and from that moment until the end of January, it’s going to be a Big Bash frenzy!
If you didn’t catch our article the other day, have a read of our full Big Bash League Preview to get our full insights into the squads and teams on paper. Without any form to go on for Round 1, our picks will be based on those preseason thoughts, and our confidence will be lower until we get a better feel for how the teams are playing.
Big Bash League Round 1
Thursday Dec 18th - Adelaide Strikers vs Melbourne Stars (Adelaide Oval)
The buzz over the last day or so has been with Adelaide’s Kieren Pollard hitting six sixes (plus a wide) off one over (yes, 37 in one over!) in a trial game. That’s exciting news as Pollard in form is great for the game, but it was on a small school boys oval and the bowling looked a little tame.
Adelaide will need Pollard as well as Hodge and Simmons to fire in their top order. If they do, they can compete, but it’s a tough ask to start against the Stars.
The preseason favourites are a formidable outfit and cover all bases with both the bat and ball. Our preseason pick for most runs, Luke Wright, scored a rapid 45 off 25 balls in a practice game while the “Big Show” Glenn Maxwell smoked 23 from just eight deliveries.
Verdict: The Melbourne Stars should be able to kick off their BBL04 campaign on a winning note but their price is a little short at $1.65. Expect Adelaide to cause an upset or two this season but this might not be it.
Friday Dec 19th – Sydney Sixers vs Melbourne Renegades (Sydney Cricket Ground)
A crucial game first up for these two teams with both likely to be contending for finals positions at the end of the season.
Aaron Finch is the dangerman for the Renegades and he warmed up with 93 from 60 balls in a warm up game a few days ago. Watch out Sixers if he does that again!
The Sixers will be tested for depth straight away with both Hazlewood and Starc getting the call up for the Test team. The pressure will be on Bollinger and Lee to take early wickets and do the damage.
Verdict: The odds are a bit all over the place in this one. Some bookies have it as a coin flip at $1.90 apiece while others have Sydney’s price at $2.12 with the Renegades at $1.72 at the time of writing. At those prices, the value is with Sydney.
Saturday Dec 20th – Melbourne Stars vs Hobart Hurricanes (Melbourne Cricket Ground)
The Stars back up for their second match of the round and take on their nemesis from last season in the Hurricanes. The Stars will be very keen for revenge for last season’s semi-final loss.
Having that first match out of the way for the Stars will have to be an advantage to work off a little rust. The Hurricanes are a talented batting team, but it’s difficult to see their bowling line up causing too many problems for the Stars. Could be a high scoring contest.
Verdict: The Stars are a short price again, but the Hurricanes are dangerous opposition, which makes it a tough betting match. Sure, the Stars are at home but I would think this should be a closer match than Thursday night against the Strikers. Probably one to sit back and watch.
Sunday Dec 21st - Sydney Thunder vs Brisbane Heat (ANZ Stadium)
In a huge blow for the Brisbane Heat, gun recruit Samuel Badree has been ruled out of BBL04 on the eve of the tournament after injuring his shoulder. The world’s number one ranked T20 bowler will require surgery, which is a huge loss. On the upside, it means that Andrew Flintoff will now play a full season of BBL04 which is great for Brisbane and for cricket fans. The $81 at Luxbet for Flintoff to take the league’s most wickets now looks worth a nibble and we’ll add that to our futures plays.
The Thunder have also been struck down through injury with key batsman Usman Khawaja snapping his ACL at training to be out for the season. That’s a huge loss to a fragile batting line up that will now rely extremely heavily on Mike Hussey and Jaques Kallis – two guys approaching 40 years of age.
I would also suggest that the $4.75 at Luxbet for the Thunder to win the wooden spoon now very good value and we’ll be jumping on.
Verdict: The current price of $1.80 looks outstanding value for the Heat against a team that has won three consecutive wooden spoons and only managed one win all last season.
Big Bash Betting Tips
Melbourne Stars (vs Strikers) @$1.65 at TopBetta (2 units with promo below)
Sydney Sixers (vs Renegades) @$2.12 at Sportingbet (1 unit) Edit: (no play)
Melbourne Stars (vs Hurricanes) @$1.60 at BetEasy (no play)
Brisbane Heat (vs Thunder) @$1.80 at Ladbrokes (3 units) * BEST BET
Tom Waterhouse Multi - Stars + Stars + Heat @$4.03 + 30% bonus at Tom Waterhouse (1 unit)
Edited December 18th: Following injuries and withdrawals of three key Sixers players before the match, we recommend removing the Sixers to win as a play. They are severely weakened and the value now looks to have gone.
