GameDay Squad AUS Cricket Round 19 Preview: The Hobart Hurricanes take on the Sydney Thunder in the 21st match of BBL13 in Bellerive at Blundstone Arena and the Brisbane Heat take on the Sydney Sixers in the 22nd match of BBL13 in Brisbane at the GABBA on Monday the 1st of January.
Here's everything you need to know ....
Predicted Teams
Game 1
Hobart Hurricanes: 1. Matthew Wade, 2. Caleb Jewell, 3. Ben McDermott, 4. Macalister Wright, 5. Sam Hain, 6. Tim David, 7. Corey Anderson, 8. Chris Jordan, 9. Patrick Dooley, 10. Nathan Ellis, 11. Riley Meredith
Sydney Thunder: 1. Cameron Bancroft, 2. Alex Hales, 3. Tom Kohler-Cadmore, 4. Oliver Davies, 5. Alex Ross, 6. Daniel Sams, 7. Nathan McAndrew, 8. Chris Green, 9. Gurinder Sandhu, 10. Liam Hatcher, 11. Tanveer Sangha
Game 2
Brisbane Heat: 1. Josh Brown, 2. Colin Munro, 3. Nathan McSweeney, 4. Matt Renshaw, 5. Sam Billings, 6. Paul Walter, 7. Xavier Bartlett, 8. Michael Neser, 9. Spencer Johnson, 10. Mitchell Swepson, 11. Matthew Kuhnemann
Sydney Sixers: 1. Josh Philippe, 2. James Vince, 3. Kurtis Patterson, 4. Moises Henriques, 5. Jordan Silk, 6. Jack Edwards, 7. Joel Davies, 8. Ben Dwarshuis, 9. Sean Abbott, 10. Jackson Bird, 11. Todd Murphy
Start Vs Sit
Batters - Colin Munro vs James Vince
Munro started BBL13 with a hiss and a roar but he has had a couple of miss clicks in the last two matches. Vince's form has been the opposite, he started off slow but scored 83 runs off 55 balls against the Stars. The opening batsmen have struggled to score well against the Heat and Sixers but I believe these batsmen have the higher floor compared to the other batsmen in today's double header. I'm leaning towards Munro but I might pivot to Vince if the Sixers bat first.
Start: Colin Munro
All-Rounder - Nathan McSweeney vs Moises Henriques
McSweeney finally showed us some of his BBL12 form and hit 73 runs off 52 balls against the Thunder. Henriques has been having a solid season with the bat and he's been offering GDS coaches some additional upside with the arm. I'm leaning towards McSweeney as my fourth all-rounder in my starting XI, purely because I think he offers a higher ceiling. However, middle order batsmen have struggled against the Sixers this season and if you are after a safer option, Henriques offers great POD potential. If the Sixers bat first, I might pivot to Henriques.
Start: Nathan McSweeney
Bowler - Nathan Ellis vs Ben Dwarshuis
Ellis bowled extremely well in the shortened match against the Stars. He picked one wicket in his two overs and this followed his two wickets against the Renegades. Dwarshuis took five wickets in his first two matches and he picked up one wicket in the washed out match against the Sixers. It's a coin flip between these two bowlers but I'm leaning towards Ellis. I liked what I saw from him in his last match and going by the below matrixes, he has a more favourable matchup.
Start: Nathan Ellis
Game 1
Matchup Matrix
Key Takeaways:
Opening batsmen have scored well against the Thunder
Lower order batsmen have scored well against the Hurricanes
Pace bowlers have scored well against both teams
Ground Matrix
Key Takeaways:
Opening batsmen have more success in the second innings
Avoid spin bowlers in bowling in the first innings
Avoid middle order batsmen in the second innings
Game 2
Matchup Matrix
Key Takeaways:
Opening and lower order batsmen haven't scored well against the Heat
Pace bowlers haven't scored well against the Heat
Lower order batsmen have had success against the Sixers
Ground Matrix
Key Takeaways:
Avoid opening batsmen in the second innings
Middle and lower order batsmen perform well here
Avoid spin bowlers in the second innings
Hot Take
Matthew Wade will dispatch the Thunder's bowlers to all parts of the ground and score 65+ runs.
Who to play in your GDS starting XI
BAT - Macalister Wright
BAT - Jack Edwards
BAT - Colin Munro
ALL - Daniel Sams
ALL - Paul Walter
ALL - Sean Abbott
ALL - Nathan McSweeney
WK - Matthew Wade
BWL - Riley Meredith
BWL - Jackson Bird
BWL - Nathan Ellis