BBL08 GAMES 28-30: SUNDAY TRIPLE HEADER
3 games, 12hrs of cricket & over $30,000 up for grabs as well as 3 tickets to the Live Final!
The Re-cap
Nice cash last start in Adelaide. Could have been much better had Weatherald and Gotch both kept going but we take what we get in this highly volatile game. Onto the triple header!
Likely XI’s
Game 28: Thunder v Strikcers @ Spotless Stadium
Thunder – Watson, Devcich, Ferguson, Sangha, Lenton, Sams, Green, Jordan, Sandhu, Cook Ahmed (Rainbird, Nair)
- No Buttler and no Root with Devcich and Jordan slotting straight in. Devcich can bowl so don’t be surprised to see Sandhu sit for Nair on the Spotless deck.
Strikers – Weatherald, Head, Ingram, Short, Wells, Nielsen, Neser, Khan, Laughlin, O’Connor, Stanlake (Valente, Lehman)
- Stanlake back in for Agar. Not much changes for the Strikers, they will hope that Khan and O’Connor can spin them to victory on the spin-friendly Spotless deck.
Game 29: Renegades v Heat @ Geelong Stadium
Renegades –Harris, Harvey, Harper, White, Cooper, Nabi, Christian, Wildermuth, Boyce, Mennie Gurney (Webster, Holland)
- No Khan, no Richardson. Mennie looks likely to retain his spot and English import Gurney should slot in too. White/Webster fighting for one spot in the batting order. Christian/Nabi are now that fifth bowler and both could see 3-4 overs if one of the three quicks goes for plenty early.
Heat – McCullum, Bryant, Lynn, Renshaw, Pierson, Cutting, Labuschagne, Mujeeb, Swepson, Doggett, Lalor, (Ross, Prestwidge)
- Burns out. Pattinson out. Young quick Prestwidge could debut here for Lalor whilst Labuschagne should slot into the batting ahead of Ross who seems to be on the outer this season. Cutting expected to play despite the five facial stitches reminding everyone how safe he is under the high ball.
Game 30: Scorchers v Sixers @ Optus Stadium, Perth
Scorchers –Klinger, Bancroft, Turner, Cartwright, Agar, Bosisto, Willey, Coulter-Nile, Tye, Kelly, Quadir, (Bosisto, Whiteman)
- It’s the Scorchers so who knows what they will do. If we are applying a semblance of common sense we’re assuming that Kelly comes in on a pace-friendly pitch. Likely for Quadir but that could decide to drop the young all-rounder Hardie and retain an attacking leg spin option.
Sixers – Vince, Avendano, Henriques, Hughes, Silk, Phillipe, Abbott, Curran, O’Keefe, Dwarsius, Manenti, (J. Edwards, M. Edwards)
- James Vince comes in for Denly and should open. Phillipe is one who could come up the order here and open alongside Vince. Willey/NCN will be a tough opening bowling pair to face on this deck so getting exposure to the Sixers middle order looks a solid play.
Selection Committee
Our strategy of building around spinners at Spotless and taking value in the middle order has worked so far this season and we’re continuing tonight. I’ll be all over Devcich second up but against the Strikers on this deck I’m more than happy to fade what will be a very popular pick. Strikers likely to bat first and we need Cook/Sams to make early inroads so Wells and Nielsen get the crease time they need. Thunder could have 4 spinners tonight and the Strikers will struggle to get them away which should bring wells in to knock around the likes of Ahmed before launching late. Khan is a must-play tonight, hopefully Fergy can hold him out but either way Sams should get plenty of time in the middle to flash late which lessens the appeal of Laughlin. Getting Lenton/Nielsen/O’Connor/Cook right tonight will be key.
Team: Ferguson, Wells, Nielsen, Sams, Khan, Ahmed, Cook
The second game is the complete opposite of the firstNo Pattinson, no Usman Khan – this will be an absolute runs-rest tonight. I’m taking as many top order runs as I can get. Six batsman, all hitters. I am also fading Lynn again and taking the man I think most likely to knock him overs which is Boyce who scores a 119pts in his last game at Geelong. If Lynn goes cheaply that will bring Pierson and Cutting into play so they are in. Christian is there for his all-round value.
Team: McCullum, Pierson, Harris, Harper, Cutting, Boyce, Christian
The last game in Perth is a mixed bag. I’m taking both opening bowlers for Perth and expecting they get early wickets and then building around that which means exposure to the middle-lower order of the Sixers. Love Cartwright’s price tag. Hopefully he gets elevated up the order tonight. Curran is expensive enough that he could come in sub 25% tonight with most people opting for Turner and Tye who have both rocketed in price. Tough game for Vince first-up, easy fade for me. If Quadir doesn’t play I’ll shift to Kelly who can bowl well on this pitch.
Team: Cartwright, Phillipe, Silk, Willey, Coulter-Nile, Curran, Quadir.
Final Thought
3 games, 12 hours of cricket and $30,000 up for grabs on Draftstars – take the kids to the beach and/or mow that lawn early because come 1:30pm it’s BBL DFS mode people!
BBL08 Balance
Games: 27
Spend: $405
Win: $462.99
Profit: +$57.99