GameDay Squad AUS Cricket Game 3 Preview: The Adelaide Strikers take on the Brisbane Heat in the 3rd match of BBL13 in Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday the 9th of December.
Here's everything you need to know ....
Predicted Teams
Adelaide Strikers: 1. Matt Short, 2. D'Arcy Short, 3. Chris Lynn, 4. Adam Hose, 5. Thomas Kelly, 6. Jamie Overton, 7. Ben Manenti, 8. Harry Nielson, 9. Henry Thornton, 10. David Payne, 11. Wes Gar
Brisbane Heat: 1. Josh Brown, 2. Colin Munro, 3. Sam Billings, 4. Max Bryant, 5. Paul Walter, 6. Michael Neser, 7. Jack Wildermuth, 8. Xavier Bartlett, 9. Matt Kuhnemann, 10. Mitchell Swepson, 11. Spencer Johnson
Start Vs Sit
Batters - Sam Billings vs Josh Brown
Billings made a solid start to BBL13 as he scored 18 runs off 11 balls against the Stars. He only came to the crease in the 15th over and did what was required of him from the Heat's point of view. With Khawaja on Test duties, Brown will likely fill the vacant opening spot. Billings averaged five more runs than Brown did in BBL12. Billings is likely to be the wicket keeper with Peirson still on PM's XI duty. This is one of the reasons why I lean towards starting Billings over Brown. The other reason is that he took to the Strikers bowlers, scoring 79 runs when he played them in BBL12.
Start: Sam Billings
All-Rounder - Jamie Overton vs Paul Walter
The two Englishman face off against each other for the fourth all-rounder spot in this match. Looking at their performances in England this year, there isn't much separating the two of them. I'm leaning towards Walter purley because he's predicted to bat higher and I was impressed with the one over he bowled against the Stars. It's not much to go on but I believe he would have bowled more overs if the Stars had batted out their overs. I would like to take one look at Overton in the Strikers lineup to see how many overs he bowls before I look at starting him. It looks like the Strikers will be going into this match with seven bowling options.
Start: Paul Walter
Bowler - Mitchell Swepson vs Henry Thornton
Swepson was off to a great start in BBL13 picking up three wickets against the Stars. He scored 80 points and this was higher than any score that he had in BBL12. I'm still not sold on Swepson as he only averaged 14 points based on GDS scoring for BBL12. Thornton was the 6th ranked bowler for BBL12, averaging 49 points based on GDS scoring. In three of his four matches at the Adelaide Oval, he finished among the top three bowlers. I'm leaning towards Swepson as my third bowler and this is down to the Adelaide Oval being the most favourable pitch for spin bowlers in BBL12. More so in the second innings as 16 of the 34 wickets taken by bowlers were by spinners. If the Heat bat first, I'll be starting Swepson as my third bowler. If the Strikers bat first, I'll pivot and start with Thornton.
Start: Mitchell Swepson (only if the Heat bat first)
Matchup Matrix
Key Takeaways:
Lower order batsman perform well against the Heat
Opening batsmen had a lot of success against the Strikers
The Strikers spinners had a fair bit of success
Ground Matrix
Key Takeaways:
Batting friendly ground for opening and middle order batsman
Avoid playing batsmen that come in at five or six for both teams
Spin friendly wicket, especially for teams bowling second
Hot Take
After a slow(ish) round one from Spencer Johnson who only took one wicket against the Melbourne Stars. We see Johnson return in a big way taking 4+ wickets against a stout Adelaide batting lineup.
Who to play in your GDS starting XI
BAT - Colin Munro
BAT - Matt Short
BAT - Chris Lynn
ALL - Jaime Overton
ALL - D'Arcy Short
ALL - Paul Walter
ALL - Michael Neser
WK - Harry Nielson
BWL - Wes Agar
BWL - Spencer Johnson
BWL - Mitchell Swepson