Melbourne Stars (1-0) at Sydney Thunder (0-0)
Sat 12 Dec 2020 @ Manuka Oval, Canberra
A brilliant bowling and fielding display by the Melbourne Stars kicked off their season on Friday night with a comfortable win over the Heat. Nathan Coulter-Nile was excellent with ball in hand as he took an incredible 4-10 off 3.5 overs, while also adding 2 run-outs. Hussain also picked up 2 key wickets, including Heat topscorer Tom Cooper. In chase of 125, the Stars had a few nervous moments as Stoinis was out 2nd ball caught behind. But Hilton Cartwright and the Maxwell show steadied the innings as Melbourne passed the total with 6 wickets remaining.
Sydney were heavily backed for the spoon last season but made some noise in the finals by knocking out the Hurricanes and Strikers. They fell short to the Stars in the finals so there’s a revenge factor here for the Thunder. They come into BBL10 with a similar lineup as last year. Their batting is led by Hales and Khawaja at the top. Then you have the experience of Ferguson and Ross. Their lower order is likely their weak area so building partnerships is the key. Bowling wise, Daniel Sams is back after a breakout season and a spot in Australia’s T20 team. They’ve also added Kiwi Adam Milne, Ben Cutting from the Heat and Chris Green returns from suspension.
The Stars have a great advantage in this matchup having already played their first match of the season. In contrast, the Thunder may be a tad rusty in their first game of BBL10. We’re not sold on the Thunder’s batting options if early wickets fall and they also don’t have a great BBL record in Canberra. Back the Stars for a 2-0 start here.
Stadium Record
The Thunder have a poor 1-4 record in Canberra. Melbourne beat the Heat by 6 wickets on Friday night at this venue.
Head to Head Record
Melbourne have won the last 4 meetings and hold an overall 7-6 record in the BBL.
Best Bet
Melbourne Renegades (0-0) vs Perth Scorchers (0-0)
Sat 12 Dec 2020 @ Blundstone Arena, Hobart
The Renegades will start their BBL season in Tasmania as they look to rebound from the wooden spoon in BBL09. Their squad for Game 1 presents a good balance between experience and young talent. But they will missing a few key all-rounders, such as Nabi. Their batting strength does look quite good with Finchy and Marsh atop the order along with the aggressive Sam Harper. Rilee Rossouw is one to watch in the middle order as well. Meanwhile, Beau Webster was one of the ‘Gades best last season. The bowling unit is led by Kane Richardson and he should be well supported by new signing Josh Lalor. Cam Boyce will be missing with health issues so Jon Holland will likely be their main spinner.
For the Scorchers, they’ll be eager to start the season with a bang as the schedule has them on the east coast for a while. But with a stretch home games in January, the Scorchers can really setup their season in the early goings. Looking at the Scorchers lineup, there’s a whole lot of talent that should see Perth hard to beat. Starting with their batting, Josh Inglis looks to be a future star and the addition of Kiwi Colin Munro should be fun to watch. Along with the experience of Marsh and Turner in the middle overs, Perth look to have a powerful lineup. Meanwhile, they have plenty of pace bowling stocks with Tye, Behrendorff, Richardson, Paris and Kelly to choose from. Fawad Ahmad is also back as their main spinner.
Perth has a wonderful record over the Scorchers in the BBL with 10 wins in 12 meetings. We really like the look of their squad at the moment with a nice balance between bat and ball. Meanwhile, the Renegades are missing a few key International players at the moment and may struggle in the early stages of the season.
Stadium Record
The Renegades are 0-2 at this venue since 2018. Perth have a nice 4-1 record here since 2012.
Head to Head Record
Perth is 10-2 against the Renegades in BBL history.
Best Bet
