BBL 7, Match 7, Preview: Defending champions Perth Scorchers take on Melbourne Stars

The defending champions of Big Bash League (BBL), Perth Scorchers started the season on a winning note. The defending champions won their first match vs Sydney Sixers comfortably with 6 wickets in hand. Perth will take on Melbourne Stars who lost their first match by 15 runs to Brisbane Heat.

The Scorchers were not looking in good shape as they had several players missing due to different reasons. Cameron Bancroft and Marsh brothers are away on international duty.  They are heavily dependent on their bowling attack and it has to click more often than not if they want to do well in the tournament. Andrew Tye was the hero in the first match as scalped 4 wickets.

Melbourne haven’t started the season as well as they would’ve liked having lost to Brisbane. Stars bowling attack was not able to keep the Heat batting line-up under control as they scored 206 in the first innings. Melbourne Stars led by Marcus Stoinis’ 99 gave a scare to Brisbane Heat as they came close to the total and only fell short by 15 runs.

Toss: Melbourne Stars won the toss and opted to field

Melbourne Stars (Playing XI): Ben Dunk(w), Luke Wright, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Rob Quiney, James Faulkner, John Hastings(c), Scott Boland, Adam Zampa, Michael Beer

Perth Scorchers (Playing XI): William Bosisto, Michael Klinger, David Willey, Hilton Cartwright, Ashton Turner, Adam Voges(c), Ashton Agar, Josh Inglis(w), Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye, Mitchell Johnson

Playing Combination

Perth Scorchers

The defending champions are handicapped by many absentees in the batting line-up. They are missing key players and it could hurt the team big time. The batting line-up is missing experience and is too dependent on former Australian batsman and Scorchers captain Adam Voges.

As it lacks experience the team from Perth needs its bowlers to step up. The bowling attack led by Mitchell Johnson is one of the best in the league. Tye was the star of the show as he picked up a 4-wicket haul which included a hat-trick, David Willey also chipped in with two wickets while Ashton Agar kept bowling tight lines and didn’t allow the batsmen to get away.

Melbourne Stars

Melbourne have a star-studded batting line-up as they are full of big hitters. Their top order has big names like Luke Wright, Kevin Pietersen, and Glenn Maxwell. All-rounders like Marcus Stoinis and James Faulkner can strike the big hits towards the end. Stonis was in great form vs Heat as he scored 99 runs off just 47 balls.

Their bowling attack lacks genuine wicket takers which hurt them in the previous encounter. Only Michael Beer and Adam Zampa were able to contain the Heat batsmen. Scot Boland and captain John Hastings were not able to maintain pressure on the batsmen as they conceded runs at an economy of 16 per over. The Stars would be hoping for a much better bowling performance this time around.

Players to watch out for

Andrew Tye

Perth Scorchers bowling showed their strength when they dismissed Sydney Sixers for just 132. Andrew Tye was the star of the day as he almost ran through the opposition. Perth would be expecting similar performances from their famed bowling attack and especially from Tye throughout the season.

Marcus Stoinis

Melbourne Stars were 53/4 chasing a target of 207. At that moment, the Stars looked dead and buried. That is when the Marcus Stoinis show started as he joined hands with James Faulkner to build a 137-run partnership. The right-handed batsman looked set to score a century before he was unlucky to be run-out on 99. He also took 3 wickets vs Heat, and has the potential to be one of the stars of the tournament.