Sydney Thunder vs Brisbane Heat, Match 7

Match: Sydney Thunder vs Brisbane Heat

Date: 14 December 2020

Place (venue): Manuka Oval, Canberra

Tournament: Big Bash League 2020

Format: Twenty20

Caption

Can Sydney Thunder improve their track record by winning against Brisbane Heat?

Key Stats

• Brisbane Heat and Sydney Thunder have played 11 matches against each other, out of which Brisbane Heat have won 8 games, while Sydney Thunder have won 2 with one match abandoned.
• Sydney Thunder had a better BBL season in the previous year compared to Brisbane Heat who ended up 7^th with 8 losses in 14 matches.
• In the last 5 encounters, Brisbane Heat won 3 times, while Sydney Thunder managed just 1 win and 1 match ended with no result.

Match Preview

Brisbane Heat and Sydney Thunder will lock horns at Manuka Oval in Canberra on 14 December in match 7 of the Big Bash League 2020. Brisbane heat are coming from a bad season last year, but they will find confidence in their record against their rivals, Sydney Thunder, in the BBL. This is the second match for both teams this season and promises to be an exciting contest.

Sydney Thunder Preview

It’s Sydney Thunder’s second game of the season after their inaugural encounter with Melbourne Stars. The BBL 2016-17 champions Sydney Thunders played well in the previous season and reached the Challenger Final match, however, they invariably ended most of their seasons at the bottom.

Sydney Thunder have not been affected by Covid-19 so far. Usman Khawaja, Alex Hales, and Adam Milne are key to their success this season. New Zealand’s right-arm pacer Adam Milne is playing after a long gap. This is his first game since August 2019. Sams is the top wicket-taker with 16 wickets in the previous 10 games, while Jonathan Cook took 8 wickets in the last 7 games. Brendon Doggett can be very effective with the ball as well.

In the last season, Alex Hales scored the most runs for Sydney Thunder, with 576 runs in 17 matches. He was also the second-highest run-getter overall. Alex Ross scored 372 runs in 17 T20 games in the previous season.

Here are the top batsmen and bowlers for Sydney Thunder.

Key players for ST: 

Sydney Thunder Probable Playing XI:

Callum Ferguson (C), Matt Gilkes (wk), Jonathan Cook, Chris Green, Alex Hales, Usman Khawaja, Nathan McAndrew, Arjun Nair, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Chris Tremain.

Brisbane Heat Preview

Apart from the BBL 2012-13 season that they won and their semifinal appearance in 2016-17, Brisbane Heat have never reached the playoffs. The last season was pretty forgettable with just 6 wins from 14 games despite the presence of the legendary cricketer, AB de Villers. Due to Covid-19, Tom Banton is not going to be a part of the squad. Besides, Mujeeb Ur Rehman’s positive test has caused uncertainty over his availability. Along with Morne Morkel, Dan Lawrence is roped in and he is available only for the first five games.

Chris Lynn is the player to watch and the current pandemic-influenced situation has added more responsibility on his shoulders. In the last 10 games, Lynn scored 264 runs with a strike rate of 141.93. Sam Heazlett played well in his last four games and scored 95 runs at an average of 23.75 and a strike rate of 143.93. Ben Laughlin leads the bowling unit with 10 wickets in the last 9 games with a strike rate of 17.4.

Here are the top batsmen and bowlers for Brisbane Heat.

Top players for BH:

Brisbane Heat Probable Playing XI

Chris Lynn (C), Max Bryant, Tom Cooper, Sam Heazlett, Dan Lawrence, Jim Peirson (WK), Xavier Bartlett, Simon Milenko, Ben Laughlin, Matt Kuhnemann, Jack Wood/Connor Sully.

Venue

The venue for this match is Manuka Oval in Canberra. This picturesque ground with a capacity of 13,550 hosted international matches like the World Cup 1992 match between South Africa and Zimbabwe and the CB Series 2008 match between India and Sri Lanka.

Toss Info

It is a very good batting wicket. Out of 11 T20 matches played here, 5 times the team batting first have won and 5 times the chasing team have succeeded. The average first-innings score here is 151 and the highest total recorded here batting first is 195-3 by South Africa Women Team against Thailand Women. The team winning the toss should bat first here.

Pitch and Weather Report

On the match day, the maximum and minimum temperature would be 22°C and 14 °C respectively, with a wind speed of 22 kph. Batting first is going to be a better option looking at the conditions.

Our Prediction

It is really tough to predict the outcome of this game. While Brisbane Heat have a clear advantage in the head-to-head record, they were below par the last season. Whereas the Sydney Thunder were good last year, they somehow find it difficult to beat Brisbane Heat. Overall, Brisbane Heat does seem to have a slight advantage over Sydney Thunder.

We predict Brisbane Heat to defeat Sydney Thunder.

Disclaimer: Our match previews are fully researched but as per the nature of the game, anything is possible on the match day. You are advised to decide for yourself when betting on a team. Thanks!