Fourth-placed Hobart Hurricanes face sixth-placed Brisbane Heat for the second time in the Big Bash League.
Brisbane won the first clash by four wickets against Hobart. Put in to bat first, Hobart could hit only 148. Lewis Gregory was the pick of the bowlers taking three wickets for 22 runs. Max Bryant and Sam Heazlett gave a strong start for Brisbane hitting 73 runs in the powerplay. Despite a middle-order collapse, James Bazley smashed a quickfire 31 to take his side home safely.
Head to Head
Matches Played- 17, Hurricanes- 10, Heat- 7
Team News
The new addition to the side, Dawid Malan could not create much impact for Hobart. Peter Handscomb's poor run with the bat continued. D Arcy Short troubled the batsmen with his variations claiming three wickets. Wil Parker was quite expensive and Hobart can bring back Johan Botha or Keemo Paul to the side.
Jack Wildermuth controlled the run flow effectively with the new ball. Tom Cooper is having an inconsistent showing with the bat. Brisbane can try out wicketkeeper-batsman, Lachlan Pfeffer instead.
Pitch and Conditions
In the two matches hosted so far in Brisbane, the team batting first and the chasing team have won once each. A total above 180 would be considered a par score. Bowlers can expect a lot of wickets if they bowl consistently and stick to a proper game plan. Rain is expected to disturb play. It is better to bat first considering the predicted overcast conditions.
Probable Playing XI
Hobart Hurricanes (HBH): D'Arcy Short, Dawid Malan, Ben McDermott (wk), Peter Handscomb (c), Colin Ingram, Tim David, James Faulkner, Nathan Ellis, Wil Parker/Johan Botha, Riley Meredith, Scott Boland
Brisbane Heat (BRH): Max Bryant, Sam Heazlett, Daniel Lawrence, Tom Cooper/Lachlan Pfeffer, Jack Wildermuth, Lewis Gregory, Jimmy Peirson (c & wk), James Bazley, Mark Steketee, Xavier Bartlett, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Key Battles
Dawid Malan (HBH) vs Lewis Gregory (BRH)
Making his BBL debut, Malan could smash only 15 runs. The number one ranked T20 batsman is an attacking top-order player. He can adapt to different match situations efficiently. His sheer consistency for England in T20I's speaks for itself.
Gregory had a fabulous outing with the ball scalping three wickets including that of Malan. The skillful seamer can move the ball both ways. He is a quality all-rounder who can unsettle the batsmen with his clever variations. Being a multi-dimensional player, he has proved to be a vital cog in England's domestic circuit playing for Somerset.
Riley Meredith (HBH) vs Sam Heazlett (BRH)
Heazlett played a vital knock of 48 in the previous game. He is an effective counter-attacker and loves to chase down big totals. He has been with Brisbane for more than 5 years and is an integral member of the squad.
Meredith took two wickets and gave away 24 runs in his four-over quota. He can bowl above 140 kph. He has improved his bowling a lot by making subtle changes to his delivery stride after extensively working with his coach, Adam Griffith. He is very versatile and can bowl at any stage of the innings.
Prediction
A win for Hobart could see them leapfrog to the top two of the points table. Brisbane can advance to the fifth spot with a victory. Brisbane's only win of the tournament came against Hobart and they would aim to make it two in a row.
Cricwizz predicts Hobart Hurricanes to win the match
