BBL 7, Match 33, Preview: Stars host Thunder in a crunch encounter

The Melbourne Stars are all set to host the Sydney Thunder in match 33 of the 7th edition of the Big Bash League (BBL). The Stars do not enjoy a great record at home this season. The only match they won in the tournament has been away at the Docklands Stadium.

The pitch at the MCG has probably not suited their batting as it has been quite slow in comparison to what it has been over the years. Most of the batsmen that the Stars have are stroke players and like the ball coming onto the bat at pace. They haven’t found it easy to adapt to the slightly different conditions that they have had to counter at home.

Even the last match that the Stars had played against the Sixers, none of their batsmen were able to time the ball properly on what appeared to be a very sluggish MCG surface and they could only set a target of 129 runs to the opposition which, at the end, didn’t prove to be enough.

Talking about the visitors’ Thunder, their last game was the Sydney derby against the Sixers which they lost badly and are now sitting at the no. 7 position in the points table with just 6 points in 8 games. Their knockout hopes are hanging in balance at this stage and they are in dire need of pulling off some positive results for themselves.

Playing Combination

Melbourne Stars

The Stars had dropped Luke Wright after his poor performances and had slotted Marcus Stoinis up the order, but now that Stoinis has departed for national duty, Wright is back in the XI and in all likelihood will open the batting tomorrow with Ben Dunk.

The onus of the Stars’ batting will be on the two superstars Kevin Pietersen and Glenn Maxwell who will be batting 3 and 4 respectively. Both of them have had an indifferent run so far, but they are the kind of players who, on a particular day, can take the game away from the opposition on their own.

As far as the Stars bowlers are concerned, they will want to raise their game as they have been a bit of a let-down this season. James Faulkner and John Hastings are the two experienced bowlers, but they have not made any impact all tournament. They need to step up to the plate if the Stars have to put up a complete performance.

Predicted XI: Luke Wright, Ben Dunk, Kevin Pietersen, Glenn Maxwell, Peter Handscomb (WK), James Faulkner, Evan Gulbis, John Hastings (C), Jackson Coleman, Daniel Worrall, Daniel Fallins

Sydney Thunder

The Thunder have had Usman Khawaja and James Vince operating for them at the top of the order of late and they have done reasonably well. Khawaja, in particular, has been hitting the ball ever so sweetly and the visitors will be expecting a big one from him. The skipper Shane Watson has been a little quiet in the recent matches after showing some wonderful form in the initial phase of the tournament. He will like to be back amongst the runs and lead the team by example.

Bowling wise, the Thunder have a good young off-spinners in the form of Chris Green but it’s their seasoned campaigner and overseas signing Mitchell McClenaghan who has not been able to come to the party so far. The left-arm quick has proved to be quite expensive and hasn’t had too many in his wickets’ tally either. Arjun Nair who has been suspended for bowling with a suspected bowling action will remain with the team as a pure batsman.

Predicted XI: Usman Khawaja, James Vince, Shane Watson (C), Callum Ferguson, Chris Green, Arjun Nair, Ben Rohrer, Jay Lenton (WK), Mitchell McClenaghan, Fawad Ahmed, Gurinder Sandhu

Head to head record

Played – 7 | Sydney Thunder – 4 | Melbourne Stars- 3

Focus will be on

Kevin Pietersen (Melbourne Stars)

Pietersen has had a lot of starts in the tournament, but barring that one innings against the Renegades where he scored 74 off 46, he has failed to convert the starts. He will have to try and bat long and control the innings. If he bats for a substantial length of time, the Stars will find themselves in a good position.

Usman Khawaja (Sydney Thunder)

Khawaja was not available for the Thunder for the initial few games of their campaign as he was playing for Australia in the Ashes, but on his return, he showed his worth straightaway with an 85-run knock. He is a fine stroke player who can take advantage of the power play and then can milk the spinners as well when the field spreads. He will have to play the anchor’s role for the Thunder.

StatAttack

3 – Usman Khawaja’s last seven BBL scores: 46*, 109*, 62, 104*, 70, 85, 8. He is the only player to score more than three consecutive 50s in BBL.

Broadcast details

TV- SonyESPN

Online- SonyLiv