Friday night cricket at the Adelaide Oval sees the Strikers hosting the Stars in a must win clash. Both sides are winless to start BBL14, so expect plenty of desperation on display in the city of churches! Jack Tobin previews the clash and provides his best bet and prop bet below. Good luck to everyone following along!
BBL14 Strikers vs Stars Betting Tips
Adelaide Oval, Friday 20th December, 7:15pm AEDT
Adelaide Strikers
Predicted XI: Matt Short, Jake Weatherald, Chris Lynn, Harry Nielsen, Alex Ross, Jamie Overton, Thomas Kelly, James Bazley, Henry Thornton, Cameron Boyce, Lloyd Pope
A nightmare 19th over from Lloyd Pope saw the Strikers lose the unloseable in their opening game of the season against the Thunder. After the Thunder got off to a brilliant start of 1/69 from 5.5 overs, the Strikers had themselves in a brilliant position when the Thunder required 33 runs from the final 12 deliveries. However, Matt Short pulled the wrong lever bringing Pope on, as Daniel Sams hit three sixes and three fours en route to taking 31 runs off the penultimate over which ultimately decided the game.
To add insult to injury, import Fabian Allen suffered a hamstring injury which hurt the Strikers badly after not being able to bowl. Allen had figures of 0/10 off two overs, the best economy rate of any Strikers bowler. Jamie Overton (2/28) and Henry Thornton (2/34) were the standouts with the ball.
Jake Weatherald wound back the clock with a scintillating 40 off 19, while Jamie Overton (45 off 35) and James Bazley (31 off 12) got the Strikers to 182 after being 6/101. Matt Short and Chris Lynn failed to get going, so there is upside for the Strikers batting unit heading into Friday’s clash.
Melbourne Stars
Predicted XI: Tom Rogers, Ben Duckett, Sam Harper, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Beau Webster, Tom Curran, Hamish McKenzie, Adam Milne, Brody Couch, Peter Siddle.
The Stars missed a golden opportunity to get their first win of the season on Wednesday night, losing at home to an undermanned Brisbane Heat. The Heat were without Colin Munro, Tom Alsop, Spencer Johnson and Michael Neser. Most of the Stars batters got starts, but none converted to a big score as they scored an underpar 6/162.
The underperforming Stars batting unit will get a massive boost with Ben Duckett available for Friday’s clash. Duckett has scored 1149 runs in Test cricket in 2024, to go with 305 runs at an average of 61 in five ODI matches. Scores of 162 and 146 which the Stars have produced to start this season, simply won’t get the job done. Glenn Maxwell has been named in the squad for the first time this season and looks set to play his first game since injuring his hamstring in the T20I series against Pakistan.
The Stars bowling attack didn’t threaten the Heat at all, as Brisbane chased the target only two wickets down. Four of the Stars seven bowlers on Wednesday went at an economy rate over 10, with Marcus Stoinis (1/20 off 4) the only bowler that gave the Heat batsmen any issues.
Match Prediction
The Strikers did a lot right against the Thunder and should have won their opening game on Tuesday. Matt Short has dominated proceedings at the Adelaide Oval over the past few seasons, and will be a big task to be contained given the short square boundaries in Adelaide. If the Strikers can contain Duckett, Stoinis and Maxwell it will make it near impossible for the Stars to win.
The Stars should be more competitive with the inclusions of Duckett and Maxwell, however their bowling attack doesn’t look capable of restricting a powerful Strikers batting unit. Adelaide have won three of their last four games at home and have won seven of their ten games against the Melbourne Stars at the Adelaide Oval. The Strikers balance will be too much for the top heavy Stars.
Adelaide Strikers to Win
$1.72 (1 Unit)
Prop Bet
Marcus Stoinis has gotten off to a decent start to BBL14, and is ready to explode after getting two starts scoring 37 and 26. Stoinis has scored the most runs of any player in games between the Stars and Strikers, with 371 runs at an average of 37.10. His last five innings against the Strikers have produced scores of 55, 74, 1, 13 and 47
Marcus Stoinis – Stars Top Run Scorer
$3.70
