It’s a blockbuster matchup on the Gold Coast as the league leading Scorchers take on the third place Thunder! It’s set to be a cracking clash and as always, we’ve got you covered with tips and a full preview!
BBL11 Scorchers vs Thunder Betting Tips
Metricon Stadium, Thursday January 6th, 9.05pm (AEDT)
Perth Scorchers
Likely XI: Kurtis Patterson, Cameron Bancroft, Colin Munro, Laurie Evans, Ashton Turner, Aaron Hardie, Ashton Agar, Andrew Tye, Peter Hatzoglou, Tymal Mills, Lance Morris
It’s hard to see the Scorchers making any changes from the eleven that defeated the Sixers on Tuesday, Matt Kelly comes into the fifteen man squad - but the starting eleven will remain the same, with Tymal Mills playing his last game before heading back to England.
The Scorchers sent a statement to the league on Tuesday night. Getting called up to play against the Sixers at the twelfth hour, without Marsh and Inglis, being 5/69 in their first innings, the Scorchers fought their way to a remarkable eight run win against the defending champions.
Youngster Aaron Hardie exemplified the depth in the Scorchers squad, with his 45 off 24 balls getting the Scorchers to a defendable score. The Scorchers were at their miserly best with all five bowlers conceding under 7.5 runs per overs as they held the Sixers to 8/133.
Sydney Thunder
Likely XI: Alex Hales, Matthew Gilkes, Jason Sangha, Sam Billings, Oliver Davies, Ben Cutting, Daniel Sams, Chris Green, Nathan McAndrew, Gurinder Sandhu, Saqib Mahmood
Alex Hales is back after a Covid forced absence, which will see Ben Cutting drop back to the middle order and Arjun Nair go out of the side. The Thunder have done an excellent job after Covid forced Hales, Alex Ross and Tanveer Sangha out of the side, winning consecutive games against the Strikers.
Mohammad Hasnain was outstanding on his BBL debut, taking 3/20 and bowling express pace. The Pakistani provides some serious X-Factor to a young side that is full of confidence, however due to Queensland border restrictions Hasnain will be unavailable for selection, which is a big blow for the Thunder.
It’s been the youngsters of Jason Sangha, Matt Gilkes and Ollie Davies who have carried the load across the last two games. It’s been a big positive given the English trio of Hales, Sam Billings and Saqib Mahmood all head back to England after tonight’s game.
Match Predicition
The Scorchers will be out for redemption after the Thunder defeated them when the two sides met last week. The pitch at Metricon Stadium favours the Scorchers incredible bowling attack, as was proven on Tuesday. It’s a tough pitch to score on, and with a bowling attack featuring Behrendorff, Tye and Mills who can hit back of a length so consistently, it’s going to be an incredibly tough challenge for the young Thunder batting unit.
The average winning score in the last four matches at Metricon Stadium has been 137, so expect this game to be another low scoring affair that will suit the Scorchers. After their remarkable win on Tuesday, the Scorchers are simply too hard to go past.
Same Game Multi
Kurtis Patterson has been in outstanding form this season, so to kick off our same game multi we’ve got Patterson to score 20+ runs. Patterson is the eleventh highest run scorer in BBL11 with 237 runs at an average of 39, with a strike rate of 144. Our BBL Data Tools show that Patterson has passed the 20 run mark in four of his six innings this season.
For the second leg, we’re going with young gun Jason Sangha to score 10+ runs. The 22 year old has been a revelation this season, scoring 239 runs at an average of 79 in five matches. Our BBL Data Tools show that Sangha has passed 10 runs in four of his five innings this season.
To round out the multi, we’ll continue to go with the first dismissal being caught, which has continued to be a common trend - hitting on eight of the last ten matches.
Patterson 20+ Runs
Sangha 10+ Runs
1st Wicket - Caught
SCO vs THU Same Game Multi
$3.30
