Bottom-placed Brisbane Heat takes on table-toppers, Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League.
Brisbane suffered their third defeat in a row in the tournament losing to Adelaide Strikers by two runs in the BBL 2020. Chasing a below-par target of 151, their top-order was dismissed cheaply. Wicket-keeper, Jimmy Peirson kept them in the hunt till the end until some good death bowling by Daniel Worrall denied them victory.
Hobart defeated Melbourne Renegades by six wickets in the last game. Ben McDermott was the star with the bat as he smashed an unbeaten 89 and Tim David finished the match in style with a quickfire knock of 21.
Team News
Ben Laughlin has been quite ineffective with the ball for Brisbane and the batsmen are getting a lot of runs against him. They can include Matthew Kuhnemann instead. Chris Lynn did not play the last game due to an injury while doing his warm-up and he will be out for three weeks due to a hamstring strain.
Keemo Paul was quite expensive for Hobart in the last game and the team can give more overs to Will Jacks and D Arcy Short. Skipper, Peter Handscomb needs to score some runs to strengthen the middle order.
Pitch and Conditions
Brisbane is hosting their second match in the BBL this season. The first match went down to the wire and the team batting first clinched it by just 2 runs. The Gabba is a great venue for batsmen to pile up the runs. Spinners can also expect some turn to assist them. The pacers can fully exploit the extra bounce on the surface.
Probable Playing XI
Brisbane Heat (BRH): Sam Heazlett, Max Bryant, Simon Milenko, Daniel Lawrence, Tom Cooper, Jack Wildermuth, Jimmy Peirson (wk), Mark Steketee, Xavier Barlett, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Ben Laughlin/ Matthew Kuhnemann
Hobart Hurricanes (HBH): D'Arcy Short, Will Jacks, Ben McDermott, Peter Handscomb (c & wk), Colin Ingram, Tim David, Keemo Paul, James Faulkner, Nathan Ellis, Scott Boland, Riley Meredith
Key Battles
Tom Cooper vs Scott Boland
Cooper scored 22 runs in the previous match. The right-hander is a vital cog in Brisbane's middle order. He can play a quickfire knock as well as long innings depending on the situation of the game.
Boland had a great outing with the ball in the last game picking two wickets for 19 runs and also bowled a maiden over. He can bowl with the new ball efficiently and is considered a death-overs specialist. His yorkers and slower balls can cut the run flow effectively.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman vs Ben McDermott
McDermott has rightfully adjudged the man of the match award for his brilliant knock of 89 against Melbourne. He has proved his mettle at the crucial number 3 spot. The right-hander is a proven match-winner in the shortest format of the game.
Mujeeb gave away 27 runs in the previous match. He can unsettle any batsman with his carrom balls and wily off-breaks. His variations are always difficult to decipher. The teenager excels even in high-pressure situations with his nagging accuracy. He can put the batsmen on a tight leash with his mystery spin.
Prediction
Brisbane badly needs a win to put their campaign back on track. Hobart will aim to extend their stay at the top of the points table. Hobart has a consistent batting line-up and Brisbane will heavily depend on a few bowlers to do a good job.
Cricwizz predicts Brisbane Heat to win the match.
