The 2nd game of the BBL11 Sunday night double header sees the Sydney Thunder hosting the Adelaide Strikers from 7.15pm! Mr. Cricket is back on deck with his full preview and betting tips below.
If you want regularly updated statistical insights for the Big Bash League, be sure to check out our BBL11 Data Tools.
BBL11 Thunder vs Strikers Betting Tips
Spotless Stadium, Sunday 2nd January, 7.15pm (AEDT)
Sydney Thunder
Predicted XI: Matthew Gilkes, Ben Cutting, Jason Sangha, Sam Billings, Oliver Davies, Daniel Same, Nathan McAndrew, Chris Green, Brendan Dogged, Saqib Mahmoud
The Thunder were one of the teams most heavily affected by the COVID-19 drama over the last few days in the BBL. Their New Years clash against the Strikers went ahead on Friday night, but they were without Sam Whiteman, Alex Hales, Alex Ross and Tanveer Sangha. Despite those outs, the Thunder still managed to win the game in a brilliant performance.
The four positive players won’t return in time for this clash, so I think it’s unlikely that we see the Thunder make any changes to their line-up. Ben Cutting was really impressive as a makeshift opener on Friday, scoring 37 off just 32 balls while Jason Sangha has been a revelation at No.3 in the last few Thunder games.
Adelaide Strikers
Predicted XI: Jake Weatherald, Matt Short, Matthew Renshaw, Jonathan Wells, Thomas Kelly, Harry Nielsen, George Garton, Rashid Khan, Peter Siddle, Daniel Worrall, Farad Ahmed
Luckily for the Strikers, they are unaffected by COVID at the moment. They desperately need to string a few wins together as they currently sit in 2nd last place on the table with just a 1-7 record. They were favoured to win over the Strikers on New Years Eve but couldn’t get over the line. Their batting has been a real issue, averaging just 157.4 runs this season, one of the lowest marks in the compeition.
I feel that the change the Strikers really need to make at the moment is to get Peter Siddle out of the line-up. The veteran has been a great BBL player in the past but he seems a bit off the pace recently and Wes Agar, who has taken over 40 wickets in the last two seasons was left out in favour of Siddle on Friday. Siddle is captain of the side though, so it’s likely that he keeps his spot.
Match Prediction
The Thunder start as favourites here after their win on Friday night. The loss of the quartet of players is significant, but they are a side that has real depth and some players in great form at the moment. Jason Sangha is seeing them like absolute beachballs and the Thunder are one of just a few teams that have two star international batsmen in their line-up, which means they are able to cover for the loss of Hales.
If the Thunder bat first, add them to score 145+ to add a little extra value to your bet. When batting first, they have passed that mark in 4/4 games this season.
Add Thunder 145+ if Bat 1st ($2.08)
Same Game Multi
Jono Wells has long been one of our favourite players to bet on when it comes to the 10+ runs market. He has been so consistent over his career, passing 10 runs in 77% of his 57 BBL innings. Back him to do so again here.
Really like the odds of Ben Cutting to pass 10+ runs as well. Seems to have found a new role at the top of the order in the absence of Alex Hales. He is able to play more freely with the power-play in the first four overs.
Our final leg will once again be the first dismissal of the game to be a catch. At the time of writing, this bet has saluted in 23/28 games.
Wells 10+ Runs
Cutting 10+ Runs
1st Dismissal - Caught
THU vs STR Same Game Multi
$2.87
