FANTASY
Follow UsPerth Scorchers take on Sydney Thunder in Match 34 of the Big Bash League (BBL) 2020-21 at the Perth Stadium on Saturday (January 9). Thunder find themselves at the top of the table with 22 points from eight matches, while Scorchers at the back of three continuous wins have climbed up to sixth with 13 points in the bag from seven games. The two teams have faced each other on 12 occasions and have won six matches apiece. However, in the last five games, Thunder have a 3-2 lead, including winning the match earlier this season by seven wickets at the Manuka Oval.
BBL head-to-head
Overall: Matches – 12 | Scorchers – 6 Wins | Thunder – 6 Wins
Last 5 Matches: Scorchers – 2 Wins | Thunder – 3 Wins
While you could go for the above team, you also have the option of choosing your own team from Cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. Based on algorithms we come up with six different teams that could fetch crucial points.
Ground details & Team combination
Three matches have been played at the Perth Stadium so far this season and the bowlers have picked up a wicket every 22.1 runs and 17.1 balls apart at an economy rate of 7.7.
While the wicket share between pacers and spinners is more or less equal, the latter have picked up a scalp every 14.7 runs, 12.6 balls apart, which is significantly better than the pacers, who have struck once every 29 runs, 21.4 balls apart.
Hence, it would be advisable to stock your team with spinners, but at the same time make sure you do not go overboard. The likes of Tanveer Sangha, Chris Green and Fawad Ahmed could be excellent picks in the spin department.
The average score, batting first, at Perth Stadium this season has been 178, while the team batting second has scored only 105 runs at an average. Moreover, in the three matches at this venue so far, the team batting first have won the matches by margins of 96 runs, 86 runs and more recently, by 39 runs. No prizes for guessing as to which way the captain winning the toss would go.
There could be some interesting match-ups too.
Andrew Tye dismissed Sam Billings twice in as many matches in the BBL 2017-18 season and since they have clashed on four occasions with the England batsman scoring just 11 off 11. Overall, the two have come up against each other on nine occasions and while Tye has dismissed him twice, he has also not let the wicketkeeper-batsman score briskly, conceding just 25 runs from 30 balls. Which way will the pendulum swing this time around?
In the battle of two New Zealand cricketers, it is Adam Milne who has a slight edge over Colin Munro in T20 cricket. Milne has dismissed Munro thrice out of their six meetings with the latter scoring at a strike-rate of 137.5. This is however the first time these two will clash in the BBL and we can surely expect some fireworks when these two are up against each other.
Captain selection
Give that Mitchell Marsh’s form is slowly getting better, it could be a good idea to hand him the captaincy of your fantasy team. Marsh has scored 172 runs at 57.33 along with a strike-rate in excess of 143 this season. He has bowled at a limited capacity since he suffered the hamstring injury in the IPL, but when he does, he could very well fetch you a wicket or two. His unbeaten 27-ball 57 in the previous match against Sydney Sixers paved the way for Scorchers’ huge victory and we can expect more from the Junior Marsh in this match and in the season ahead.
Our Criclytics player projector predicts Marsh could score 10-27 runs and pick up 0-1 wickets in this match
X-Factors
Having picked up 15 wickets at 13.73, Tanveer Sangha is now the joint highest wicket-taker in BBL 2020-21. The 19-year-old has gone wicketless just once this season and has picked up at least two wickets in five out of the eight matches he has played so far. There’s little doubt that Sangha is one of the finds of this season. He picked up a couple of wickets the last time he played in Perth and we could expect him to be among the wickets once again in this match.
Our Criclytics player projector predicts Marsh could pick up 0-1 wickets in this match
With scores of 20, 72 not out and 42 not out in the last three innings, Josh Inglis has been pivotal in Scorchers turning this around this season. However, they will require similar contributions from him if they are to keep their winning streak going and give them a chance to finish in the top half of the table. Since 2020, Inglis has scored 484 runs at a strike-rate of more than 150 in T20s which includes four fifties from 17 innings.
Our Criclytics player projector predicts Marsh could score 13-36runs in this match
After two back-to-back ducks, including one against the Scorchers, Alex Hales in his next five innings has registered scores of 35, 71, 45, 46 and 21. He has often gotten Thunder off to a terrific start and on his day, he can maul any bowling attack in the world. He has been among the most consistent batsmen over the last year or so, having scored 1,192 runs at a strike-rate of 154.2 in T20s since 2020.
Our Criclytics player projector predicts Marsh could score 15-38 runs in this match
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