GameDay Squad AUS Cricket Round 24 Preview: The Melbourne Stars take on the Sydney Sixers in the 28th match of BBL13 in Melbourne at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday the 6th of January.
Here's everything you need to know ....
Predicted Teams
Melbourne Stars: 1. Tom Rogers, 2. Dan Lawrence, 3. Beau Webster, 4. Glenn Maxwell, 5. Marcus Stoinis, 6. Hilton Cartwright, 7. Imad Wasim, 8. Sam Harper, 9. Joel Paris, 10. Corey Rocchiccioli, 11. Mark Steketee
Sydney Sixers: 1. Josh Philippe, 2. James Vince, 3. Kurtis Patterson, 4. Moises Henriques, 5. Jordan Silk, 6. Tom Curran, 7. Jack Edwards, 8. Ben Dwarshuis, 9. Sean Abbott, 10. Jackson Bird, 11. Steve O'Keefe
Start Vs Sit
Batters - Tom Rogers vs Kurtis Patterson
Rogers had his best innings of the season in his last match. He scored 42 runs off 34 balls and was the backbone of the Stars' run chase. Patterson has only played one match and that was the last match that the Sixers played. In this match Patterson didn't get going and was dismissed for seven runs. As Rogers has started stringing some good performances together and the lack of opportunities for Patterson, I'll be starting Rogers.
Start: Tom Rogers
All-Rounder - Moises Henriques vs Tom Curran
Who to start out of these two players could be a key decision. I'm leaning towards Curran as I believe he has a higher ceiling. He averages 34 points over his three games with scores of 7 points vs Renegades, 88 points vs Hurricanes and 6 points vs Heat. As you can see, he can be a very risky option. Henriques averages 37 points and has been more consistent than Curran but his highest score has only been 76 points. After looking at the below matrix data, it looks like this matchup against the Stars is a better matchup for Curran than Henriques.
Start: Tom Curran
Bowler - Joel Paris vs Mark Steketee
Both these pacemen for the Stars haven't set the world on fire with their performances in fantasy terms. Paris is averaging 27 points and Steketee is averaging 10 points. I'm going to be starting Paris out of these two players. He has looked more dangerous with the ball and taken wickets in all but one of his matches. Steketee has only taken one wicket in his three matches and only bowled all four of his overs once.
Start: Joel Paris
Matchup Matrix
Key Takeaways:
Openers score well against the Stars
Spin bowlers have success against the Sixers
Pace bowlers score well against the Stars
Ground Matrix
Key Takeaways:
Middle order batsmen in the first innings struggle to score
Spin bowlers have some success at the MCG
Both pace and spin bowlers score more points when bowling in the second innings
Hot Take
Josh Philippe will score his first fifty of BBL13.
Who to play in your GDS starting XI
BAT - James Vince
BAT - Jack Edwards
BAT - Tom Rogers
ALL - Beau Webster
ALL - Glenn Maxwell
ALL - Sean Abbott
ALL - Tom Curran
WK - Josh Philippe
BWL - Jackson Bird
BWL - Ben Dwarshuis
BWL - Joel Paris