GameDay Squad AUS Cricket Game 7 Preview: The Melbourne Stars take on the Perth Scorchers in the 7th match of BBL13 in Melbourne at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday the 13th of December.
Here's everything you need to know ....
Predicted Teams
Melbourne Stars: 1. Tom Rogers, 2. Sam Harper, 3. Nick Larkin, 4. Marcus Stoinis, 5. Beau Webster, 6. Hilton Cartwright, 7. Liam Dawson, 8. Usama Mir, 9. Joel Paris, 10. Mark Steketee, 11. Haris Rauf
Perth Scorchers: 1. Stephen Eskinazi, 2. Cooper Connolly, 3. Aaron Hardie, 4. Josh Inglis, 5. Ashton Turner, 6. Laurie Evans, 7. Nick Hobson, 8. Jhye Richardson, 9. Andrew Tye, 10. Hamish McKenzie, 11. Jason Behrendorff
Start Vs Sit
Batters - Nick Larkin/Campbell Kellaway vs Stephen Eskinazi
Not a lot of batting power to choose from in this match up! GameDay Squad coaches will want to keep their ears to the ground as lineups are announced, particularly on the Melbourne Stars side who will need to find a replacement for batsman Joe Burns who is confirmed out with an illness. Front runners for the open slot wil be 33 year old Nick Larkin and 21 year old Campbell Kellaway, Larkin with 57 BBL matches to his name and a healthy 31.44 batting average should take the spot as the stars look desperately to find some consistent form - However keep an eye on Kellaways name this season, he could be an x-factor! Now to the start v sit! Eskinazi was given LBW for a duck in the 1st over against the Renegades. I'm not reading too much into this as the pitch was doing all sorts and the replay of the dismissal clearly showed the ball going over the stumps. Larkin didn't play in the Stars first hit out against the Heat but he should either slot into that third or fourth batting position and have every opportunity at the crease as I expect the Scorchers incredible bowling attack to take a couple of early scalps. Though, all that said I prefer Eskinazi in this match for the following reasons. Openers tend to have more success than the middle order at the MCG. The Scorchers bowling attack were very good against opposing opening / middle order batsmen in BBL12. In the Stars opening match, their bowlers found it tough going against the Heat openers and let them make it through to 66 runs before taking the first wicket.
Start: Stephen Eskinazi
All-Rounder - Marcus Stoinis vs Hilton Cartwright
Against the Heat, Cartwright outscored Stoinis 53 points to 10. I don't think this will happen in this match and here is why. Stoinis may be required to bowl as Maxwell and Coulter-Nile are going to miss this match. Cartwright didn't bowl a single over in BBL12 and with the Stars depth in bowlers for BBL13, I don't see this changing. Even though middle order batsmen struggled against the Scorchers bowling attack in BBL12, I believe Stoinis still offers more fantasy upside. This comes down to Stoinis batting higher up the order and more likely to bowl.
Start: Marcus Stoinis
Bowler - Haris Rauf vs Jason Behrendorff
I like both of these bowlers and in most matches I would start them both. It's just unfortunate from a fantasy point of view that Behrendorff bowls alongside Richardson and Tye. Richardson was the highest ranked bowler in BBL12 and Tye was the 4th ranked. From a strategy point of view, I think it's unwise to start all three of these fast bowlers with them being in the same team. Even though Behrendorff only averaged four points less than Tye in BBL12, he is the one that misses out for me in this match. Rauf is an excitement machine and I think we will see some great spells from him throughout the tournament.
Start: Haris Rauf
Matchup Matrix
Key Takeaways:
Lower order batsman have a lot of success against the Stars
Scorchers have some problems facing spin
The top four batsmen struggle against the Scorchers bowling attack
Ground Matrix
Key Takeaways:
This pitch should assist spin bowlers
Opening batsmen generally perform pretty well here
Avoid starting middle order batsmen in the 1st innings
Hot Take
Josh Inglis shows his class and pedigree in both innings, smashing a quick half century then taking 3+ catches behind the stumps!
Who to play in your GDS starting XI
BAT - Tom Rogers
BAT - Cooper Connolly
BAT - Stephen Eskinazi
ALL - Aaron Hardie
ALL - Marcus Stoinis
ALL - Beau Webster
ALL - Ashton Turner
WK - Josh Inglis
BWL - Andrew Tye
BWL - Jhye Richardson
BWL - Haris Rauf