GameDay Squad AUS Cricket Round 26 Preview: The Sydney Thunders take on the Perth Scorchers in the 30th match of BBL13 in Sydney at the Sydney Showground Stadium on Monday the 8th of January.
Here's everything you need to know ....
Predicted Teams
Sydney Thunder: 1. Cameron Bancroft, 2. Alex Hales, 3. Tom Kohler-Cadmore, 4. Jason Sangha, 5. Oliver Davies, 6. Alex Ross, 7. Daniel Sams, 8. Nathan McAndrew, 9. Chris Green, 10. Gurinder Sandhu, 11. Tanveer Sangha
Perth Scorchers: 1. Zak Crawley, 2. Steve Eskinazi, 3. Aaron Hardie, 4. Josh Inglis, 5. Laurie Evans, 6. Cooper Connolly, 7. Ashton Agar, 8. Jhye Richardson / Hamish McKenzie, 9. Andrew Tye, 10. Lance Morris, 11. Jason Behrendorff
Start Vs Sit
Batters - Steve Eskinazi vs Laurie Evans
I think Eskinazi is going to come back into the Scorchers starting XI for Sam Whiteman who hasn't really impressed with the bat. Eskinazi has only played one match and scored 36 points. Evans has been one of the in-form batsmen in AUS Cricket and has averaged 64 points over his last three matches. In all these matches the Scorchers were batting first. Everything being equal, I like Evans. However, deciding between these two batsmen is toss dependent due to Evans' four point average when the Scorchers are chasing.
Start: Evans if Scorchers bat first, Eskinazi if Scorchers bat second
Wicket-Keeper - Cameron Bancroft vs Josh Inglis
Bancroft is the better wicket-keeper in a fantasy sense as he averages 53 points compared to 49 points for Inglis. However, Inglis has only found himself at the crease in four of his five matches. In the matches when he has batted, he averages 61 points. I lean towards Inglis here as he has outscored Bancroft when he's had his opportunity at the crease. Also, the Scorchers bowling attack has generally made it more difficult to score points against compared to the Thunder's bowling attack. However, if the Thunder bat first, I might pivot to Bancroft as Inglis only averages 24 points when the Scorchers are chasing.
Start: Josh Inglis
Bowler - Andrew Tye vs Jhye Richardson
The Scorchers have the best pace attack in the BBL and it's been a coin flip in most matches on who to pick. Here are the averages for their four pace bowlers, Morris 60 points, Behrendorff 52 points, Tye 42 points and Richardson 34 points. I'm surprised to see that Richardson has been the worst performer out of these bowlers after being the best bowler in BBL12 based on GDS scoring. I've personally been starting him every round because I know the upside that he can produce but have been disappointed in most rounds. There has been talk of one of the Scorchers pace men having a rest against the Thunder but who knows if that will happen. If one of the bowlers is rested, I'll be fielding all of the three starting Scorchers pace bowlers. If they all play, I'll be begrudgingly sitting Richardson as he has been underperforming this season.
Start: Andrew Tye
Matchup Matrix
Key Takeaways:
Opening and middle order batsmen have scored well against the Thunder
Middle and lower order batsmen have struggled to score against the Scorchers
Avoid the Thunder bowlers
Ground Matrix
Key Takeaways:
Opening batsmen in the first innings haven't had a lot of success here
Pace bowlers have scored well here in the past
Middle order batsmen tend to score better in the first innings than the second
Hot Take
Zak Crawley will score his second fifty of the season and be the top scoring batter.
Who to play in your GDS starting XI
BAT - Zak Crawley
BAT - Alex Hales
BAT - Steve Eskinazi / Laurie Evans
ALL - Daniel Sams
ALL - Chris Green
ALL - Aaron Hardie
ALL - Ashton Agar
WK - Josh Inglis
BWL - Lance Morris
BWL - Jason Behrendorff
BWL - Andrew Tye