Heat vs Scorchers (The Gabba)
Friday 1st February, 5.40pm WST
Who would have thought at the beginning of BBL08 that these two sides would be battling to avoid the wooden spoon? It’s been an extremely disappointing series for both teams, that on paper looked near certain to play finals.
For the Scorchers, the poor form of Michael Klinger and the inconsistency of the other top order players has been fatal to their chances. Only two players, Ashton Turner (307) and Cam Bancroft (200) have scored 200+ runs. With this lack of runs, the pressure has again been on the bowling attack. Unfortunately this year they haven’t been able to cover the deficiency of the batsmen. Tye (14 wickets), Behrendorf (9) and Coulter-Nile (9) have tried hard but the lack of efficient spin has been a weakness – pressure will be on the threee key pacemen to succeed.
The Heat have been just as disappointing with a star-studded top order batting line-up not performing as expected. The influence of Chris Lynn (329) and Brendan McCullum (248) has been minimal in comparison to previous seasons. As with the Scorchers, the inconsistent performance of the batsmen has put pressure on the bowlers and again the results have shown a lack of depth in the Heats attack. Lalor (11 wickets), Cutting (10) and Doggert (10) have been steady, however their economy rate is poor. Key import Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been economical although more wickets would have been expected.
Picking a winner between these two talented but under performing teams looks a little difficult. Neither will want the stigma of finishing with the wooden spoon. I’m going to pick the Heat, putting my faith in Lynn, McCullum, Bryant, Pierson and Ross to get back to the explosive batting that we have come to expect at the Gabba.
Tips
Winner: Heat ($1.90)
Heat Most Runs: Chris Lynn ($2.85)
Scorchers Most Runs: Ashton Turner ($5)
Heat Most Wickets: Ben Cutting ($5)
Scorchers Most Wickets: Andrew Tye ($3.50)
Odds correct as at 10am, 31st January 2019.
Market Market