The Melbourne Stars and the Sydney Sixers clash in a mouth-watering BBL11 match up on Wednesday night. Two of the marquee franchises of the Big Bash League will be looking to assert themselves over the BBL11 competition with a win. The Stars and Sixers will kick off at 7:15pm local time on Wednesday at the MCG.
We are right in the midst of a massive Australian summer of cricket with the BBL11 season and the Ashes in full swing! Remember to head to our Cricket Tips page for daily updates.
Melbourne Stars vs Sydney Sixers Betting Tips
Melbourne Cricket Ground, Wednesday, December 15th, 7:15pm AEDST
Sydney Sixers
Sixers Likely XI: Philippe, Vince, Henriques, Hughes, Silk, Christian, Curran, Jordan, Dwarshius, Kerr, O’Keefe
Both teams have all the markings of a true contender this BBL season. Of course the Sixers are the reigning back-to-back champs, but they were humbled somewhat on Saturday night by a blistering Hurricanes outfit. Matthew Wade, D’Arcy Short and Caleb Jewell thrashed the Sixers bowlers to all corners on their way to a massive score of 213. That was always going to be out of reach but Josh Philippe (72 from 46) continued his good form, while Moises Henriques also looks in excellent touch.
The concern is their bowling and how the Sixers can bounce back against another power-packed batting lineup. Tom Curran went at 15 an over while Chris Jordan was almost 13 an over - not exactly the returns you’d hope for from your overseas players. But they are experienced enough to get back to their best. Sean Abbott will also miss this game for the birth of his child, but that is balanced somewhat by the potential return of Ben Dwarshuis.
Melbourne Stars
Stars Likely XI: Clarke, Stoinis, Larkin, Maxwell, Cartwright, Webster, Russell, Coulter-Nile, Zampa, Ahmad, Couch
It’s going to be tough for the Sixers if the Stars bat like they did the other night with Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell and Andre Russell all in ominous form with some massive blows against the Thunder. When you throw in the fact that Joe Clarke hasn’t fired at all yet, and we’ve yet to even see Beau Webster or Nathan Coulter-Nile with the bat, the Stars are in good shape.
The one area I’d suggest the Stars could be exposed is with their bowling. They have two quality spinners in Adam Zampa and Qais Ahmad, and Nathan Coulter-Nile is dangerous while he’s fit, but they are vulnerable after that. Brody Couch is still learning the ropes while Dre Russ is not the threatening bowler he once was. They do have part-time options from there if required, with Glenn Maxwell likely to bowl a few. Hilton Cartwright or Beau Webster can chip in, but Marcus Stoinis won’t be troubling that side strain at the bowling crease.
This is a cracking contest and a true coin flip match. I feel that if the Sixers can put pressure on the Stars bowling, then they may be able to expose their next-string bowlers, while the Sixers have more depth with their bowling options. There could be plenty of runs scored in this one!
Sydney Sixers to win
$1.97
Same Game Multi
We’re going to back plenty of runs in this one with two formidable batting lineups. Our same game multi will combine both teams to score 145+ runs, with a couple of consistent run scorers.
According to our new BBL11 Data Tools, we can see that James Vince will reach 10 runs 83% of the time, and Marcus Stoinis will do so 82% of the time.
I like that consistency so let’s include both of those, or take 20+ if you’re feeling more adventurous!
Both Teams to score 145+
James Vince to score 10+
Marcus Stoinus to score 10+
