GameDay Squad AUS Cricket round 14 Preview: The Brisbane Heat take on the Sydney Thunder in the 16th match of BBL13 in Brisbane at the GABBA on Wednesday the 27th of December.
Here's everything you need to know ....
Predicted Teams
Brisbane Heat: 1. Colin Munro, 2. Josh Brown, 3. Nathan McSweeney, 4. Matt Renshaw, 5. Sam Billings, 6. Paul Walter, 7. Xavier Bartlett, 8. Michael Neser, 9. Matthew Kuhnemann, 10. Spencer Johnson, 11. Mitchell Swepson
Sydney Thunder: 1. Cameron Bancroft, 2. Alex Hales, 3. Jason Sangha, 4. Oliver Davies, 5. Alex Ross, 6. Daniel Sams, 7. Nathan McAndrew, 8. Chris Green, 9. Liam Hatcher, 10. Zaman Khan, 11. Tanveer Sangha
Start Vs Sit
Batters - Alex Hales vs Jason Sangha
Hales had a quick fire 40 runs off 26 balls against the Stars and it seems that he's starting to find some form with the bat. Sangha has only played the one match so far and he scored 19 runs off 21 balls. Out of these two batsmen, Hales would usually be an auto pick for me but openers only average 6 points against the Sixers in BBL13. However, I'm still leaning towards Hales being my third batsmen in my starting XI. Mainly because Sangha has only played one match so far and Hales has a higher ceiling.
Start: Alex Hales
All-Rounder - Nathan McSweeney vs Michael Neser
McSweeney hasn't really fired yet and is averaging 24 points. Neser has been performing well considering the limited opportunities that he's been given. He has only bowled seven overs in his three matches and I was expecting him to have more of a role in the Heat's bowling attack. I'm still likely to start him over McSweeney and this comes down to me having Renshaw ranked above both for the match. I think playing both McSweeney and Renshaw isn't wise as they both have a very similar role for the Heat. I believe starting the Neser limits the risk in case both McSweeney and Renshaw are dismissed cheaply.
Start: Michael Neser
Bowler - Mitchell Swepson vs Tanveer Sangha
Both of these bowlers have been in form, Swepson is averaging 55 points and Sangha is averaging 36 points. Who to start really depends on which team bowls first and this is because spinners haven't had a lot of success at the Gabba when they bowl in the first innings. Over the last two seasons spin bowlers are only averaging 3.7 points per over when they bowl in the first innings at the Gabba. This works out to be an average of 15 points if the bowler bowls their full complement of overs and this is too low for my liking.
Start: Whoever is bowling in the second innings out of Swepson and Sangha
Matchup Matrix
Key Takeaways:
Opening and lower order batsmen struggle against the Heat
Bowlers up against the Thunder have scored well in BBL13
Opening batsmen have had success against the Thunder
Ground Matrix
Key Takeaways:
Spin bowlers generally don't score well here
Lower order batsmen have a lot of success
Avoid bowlers that bowl in the first innings
Hot Take
Daniel Sams will back up this 100+ point performance against the Stars with a 75+ point performance against the Heat.
Who to play in your GDS starting XI
BAT - Colin Munro
BAT - Oliver Davies
BAT - Alex Hales / Jason Sangha
ALL - Paul Walter
ALL - Daniel Sams
ALL - Matt Renshaw
ALL - Michael Neser
WK - Cameron Bancroft
BWL - Xavier Bartlett
BWL - Zaman Khan
BWL - Mitchell Swepson / Tanveer Sangha