Boxing Day action in BBL09 sees the Perth Scorchers host the Sydney Sixers at Optus Stadium in Perth.

We saw an extremely entertaining contest at Optus Stadium on Saturday night where the Scorchers were able to defend their imposing 196 run total to win by 11 runs against the Renegades. The pitch at Optus Stadium has continued to improve to the point where it is now among the higher scoring grounds in the country and our data tools show a clear lean to batsmen in fantasy scoring. With fine conditions and 30 degrees forecast for Thursday, this trend looks likely to continue.

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The Scorchers were involved in a breathtaking match on Monday night against the Adelaide Strikers, falling 15 runs short of Adelaide’s 198 run target despite a blistering 124 run partnership from their openers. The Sixers had their measure in the first game of the season, restricting them to 131 at the SCG and chasing the score comfortably, but the Scorchers batting since that match has been much improved and could be a different story on a bat-friendly deck. The Scorchers much vaunted bowling attack hasn’t been at the same level as previous seasons and it has been the newcomers Fawad Ahmed and Chris Jordan who have been best performed alongside Aussie representative Jhye Richardson. Matt Kelly comes into the squad of 13 for this match and being a noted wicket taker he should add some firepower to the attack.

The Sydney Sixers got a nice old wake up call on Sunday when Chris Lynn and to a lesser extent Matt Renshaw whopped them to all corners of the ground on their way to a massive 4/209 for the Brisbane Heat. The Sixers batting was ordinary in reply and never looked like getting near the total, which was their second consecutive poor performance with the bat after their collapse against the Hurricanes. As mentioned, the Sixers started with a big win against the Scorchers with Philippe leading their batting with an unbeaten 81 and they will be looking for a similar effort on Thursday. The Heat got hold of their bowling attack on Sunday and while their previous performances were solid, this looks set to be the flattest wicket they have bowled on this season so we will really find out where they are at.

Last year’s matchup at this ground saw the Scorchers chase down 177 comfortably thanks to Cameron Bancroft and Ash Turner. Despite the Sixers earlier victory, the bookies are going with the Scorchers as a slight favourite on their home ground and how their batting stands up looks to be the key to this match.

 

Access our FREE Data Tools for Thursday's BBL Matchup here

Batsmen

Love It – Ashton Turner ($14,300 on Draftstars) has missed out a couple of times already in BBL09 but in his only game here on his home deck he produced a quickfire 36 off 26 balls. At this salary that is a reasonable return but we saw last season he has genuine 100+ point upside and has solidified himself as one of the better middle order players in the country. Was used at no.3 last game after their big opening partnership as they like to get him into the game so he should get every opportunity to crush this salary.

Don’t Love It – Jordan Silk ($12,000 on Draftstars) was able to bob up from time to time last season to save the Sixers innings and score some handy fantasy points in the process but it has been lean pickings so far this season. The combination of a low strike rate and general lack of opportunity at number 5 really caps his upside and he isn’t priced much lower than guys batting up the order such as Henriques, Hughes and Inglis. If you fancy a Scorchers whitewash then he is a reasonable option to pair with a Perth stack but outside of that there should be better options.

Who Knows – Liam Livingstone ($17,200 on Draftstars) arrived with much fanfare and we saw why against the Strikers with a superb 69 off 26 balls. Only knows one way which can bring plenty of risk at this price point but if it comes off you’ll need him in your lineup. High risk, high reward.

 

Bowlers

Love It – Jhye Richardson ($16,400) is bowling with real pace and picked up his first couple of wickets for the year against Adelaide last game. His below par start to the season has brought him down to a very reasonable salary given his wicket taking prowess. Gets overs at the death and can bowl tight enough to earn an economy bonus as a back up if he misses out on the wickets. As good as any in a match with many wicket takers.

Don’t Love It – Benjamin Manenti ($13,000 on Draftstars) has been very crafty with his pedestrian-looking offspinners so far in BBL09, taking 2 wickets in each of his 3 matches. However, this pitch is likely to be less friendly for the slow bowlers and he faces some very powerful hitters in the Perth lineup. Likely to be popular given his 61 point fantasy average so far this season but if he goes wicketless he could be a lineup killer.

Who Knows - Matt Kelly ($14,100 on Draftstars) returns from illness here to make the squad of 13 and given his previous BBL record he should find his way into the starting XI. He took 11 wickets in only 7 games last season and has been given plenty of work late in the innings with his ability to hit the yorker. There is always some amount of risk playing those coming back from injury or illness but he is a genuine wicket taker with the upside to take on the risk.

 

 

 

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