After the Sydney Sixers just beat the Adelaide Strikers on Sunday night in Coffs Harbour, the two sides meet again on Wednesday afternoon at the Adelaide Oval. We have a full preview and betting tips for the clash here.
Adelaide Strikers Squad (13): Alex Carey ©, Wes Agar, Harry Conway, Rashid Khan, Michael Neser, Harry Nielsen, Phil Salt, Matt Short, Peter Siddle, Billy Stanlake, Cameron Valente, Jake Weatherald, Jon Wells
Sydney Sixers Squad (13): Justin Avendano, Jackson Bird, Tom Curran, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Josh Hazlewood, Dan Hughes ©, Ben Manenti, Steve O'Keefe, Josh Philippe, Lloyd Pope, Jordan Silk, James Vince
BBL09 Strikers vs Sixers Betting Tips
Strikers
The Strikers will be out for revenge after the close loss to the Sixers on Sunday. They still sit 3rd on the table with 3 wins from 5 but need to end a 2 game losing streak with sides underneath climbing up the ladder. This will also be Alex Carey’s last match before he heads to India with the ODI squad. The good news is Travis Head will return (on Sunday) from test duties in a straight replacement for Carey. After being 12th man for the entire Test summer, it was great to see Neser finally play some competitive Cricket and he did look a bit rusty with the ball, which was understandable. They also need to figure out Stanlake as he’s just not taking wickets and giving up plenty of runs. But they did miss the bowling of Wes Agar and he returns to the squad for this clash. Meanwhile, the Cam White experiment looks to be over as Neilsen will probably take his spot in the middle order.
The Adelaide Oval is generally a great batting wicket and we’ll be targeting the ultra-consistent Jono Wells in the Strikers middle order. Against the Sixers on Sunday, he complied 40 not out as wickets fell around him and that made it 4 straight BBL innings that he’s scored 20 or more runs. In fact, he hasn’t been dismissed for under 18 runs at all this season. He also loves batting at the Adelaide Oval with 6 straight BBL innings of 18+ runs.
Jono Wells 20+ Runs
$1.91
Sixers
The Sixers are sitting nicely in 2nd position on the table after 5 wins out of 7. It’s been an impressive run considering O’Keefe has missed most of the season and Henriques was also absent in the victory over the Strikers. So it just shows how good the depth is at the Sixers. They’ve added the experience of Hazlewood as he returns from a hamstring and Avendano played a great innings at the top of the order in Coffs. O’Keefe will likely be a game-time decision but the great form of Pope means they can be extra careful. Henriques will miss this clash as well so the Sydney siders head to Adelaide with an unchanged squad.
One of the great stories out of the Sixers victory over the Strikers was the batting performance by Justin Avendano. He smashed some huge sixes on his way to 47 off 33 balls. As mentioned, the Adelaide Oval is basically a batsman’s paradise, especially for openers in the powerplay. With Stanlake out of form and Neser lacking playing time, Avendano should be a good chance of clearing 20 runs if he gets going again.
Justin Avendano 20+ Runs
$1.95
Prediction
The Sydney Sixers continue to be a darkhorse team in BBL09 and we’re liking the underdog odds on offer. Firstly, they’ve now beaten the Strikers in the last 3 meetings and should take great confidence out of beating the Strikers just a few days ago. The problem for the Strikers at the moment is their powerplay bowlers aren’t taking wickets and their middle-order batting behind Wells is pretty weak, especially when they lose early wickets. So have to like the in-form Sixers here.
