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The BBL heads back to Optus Stadium on Monday night with a massive clash between the Perth Scorchers and Sydney Thunder. It’s the second game of a double-header and with both sides sitting mid-table with 5 wins apiece, a top 3 position will be at stake.

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It’s rare to see a team bowled out for under 100 at Optus Stadium but that was the case in the Scorchers poor performance against the Stars (all out for 86) in the last BBL game here. But overall, the venue has been a batsman-friendly pitch as it ranks equal 3rd among all BBL venues for fantasy points scored. While for bowlers, it’s a pretty difficult place for bowlers to have much success and the weather will be perfect for both batting lineups on Monday night. It will reach 30 degrees during the day and will be around 26 during game time. 

The Scorchers finally get a rest from travelling with their next two games at Optus Stadium and they’ll likely need to win both for a chance at finishing in the top 3. Starting with their batting, they continue to be very inconsistent side as wickets seem to fall in quick succession. As we mentioned, they were bowled for 86 in just 13.5 overs at this venue last time out and again collapsed in a favourable position against the Stars at the MCG on Saturday. Josh Inglis has been their most reliant batsman with 324 runs in 11 innings and can also grab a few catches with the gloves. Livingstone is very hit or miss (mostly miss at the moment) and just looks too expensive considering he’s not bowling at the moment either. It’s hard to forget Mitch Marsh’s 93 not out against the Heat at this venue on Jan 11 but the Thunder does have a very underrated bowling lineup. In the middle order, Cam Green and Tim David are attractive plays with their cheap price tags but their inexperience is showing at the moment. Bowling wise, Jhye Richardson is in superb form and should be considered for upcoming tours with the Aussies. He’s hit a nice floor of 39 in his last 9 games and holds an impressive economy rate of 7.19. Matthew Kelly returned to the side with a bang at the MCG with a 3 wicket haul. So we’ll have to wait and see if he can back it up. 

Sydney come to Perth on a back of a huge win over the Sixers in the Sydney Derby on Saturday night. Their bowling lineup was simply superb as they restricted the Sixers to 76 runs on a very dodgy pitch at the Sydney Showground. Chris Morris will likely be a popular play after hitting 100+ points for the first time this season and offers a nice combination of wickets / runs with the bat in the middle order. Daniel Sams also picked up 3 wickets, moving him to 20 wickets on the season and much like Morris, he offers runs with the bat as well. So you could easily stack both guys in this matchup, especially considering the Scorchers ability to lose quick wickets. The conditions didn’t suit Liam Bowe on Saturday as they opted for pace. But he should get 4 overs after the Scorchers lost 5 wickets to spin at the MCG. Gurinder Sandhu also played his first game of the season and looked unplayable on that deck. So he should be popular at $11.7k and scoring 54 pts. In the batting department, the Sydney rain saw them bat just 5.5 overs against the Sixers. Their top order struggled again with Alex Hales out facing his first ball and Uzzie scored 13 off 13. We do have to consider the Sydney Showground pitch. However, they will face a tough powerplay against Richardson / Kelly. Ferguson is definitely due for a good knock after an unlucky dismissal in Canberra and did score a century at this venue last season. With the top order struggling, the Thunder skipper could be called upon to anchor the inning. Alex Ross has been great in the middle order this season with 217 runs in 9 innings and looks well priced at $13.7 if the Thunder lose quick wickets. 

This is the first meeting of the season between the two sides and interestingly, the Thunder have won the last 3 clashes with the Scorchers. That also includes chasing down 181 at this venue last January. Callum Ferguson earned man of the match honours on that occasion with a magnificent 113 not out. 

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Batsmen

Love it – Daniel Sams ($16,000 Draftstars)

It’s been a breakout season for Sams after taking 20 wickets and the other positive is his position in the Thunder batting lineup. He’s currently batting number 4 behind Ferguson and while you wouldn’t bank on him scoring a ton of runs, it’s a nice bonus when he’s bowling like this. Comes off 3 for 14 against the Sixers and could easily pick up 2+ wickets against this Scorchers batting lineup that loves a collapse.

Don’t Love It? – Usman Khawaja ($17,300 Draftstars)

Hard to recommend picking Uzzie at the moment. He’s holding a strike-rate of just 125, which ranks him very low in comparison with the rest of the competition and it’s hard to see that improving against Richardson in the powerplay. 

Who Knows? – Liam Livingstone ($17,200 Draftstars)

Livingstone is the definition of who knows in his first BBL season. He’s either going to get out early swinging for the fences or he’ll reward you with a 100+ score. The fact that he hasn’t bowled in their last 2 games is a worry because we could bank on an economy bonus or cheap wicket if he failed with the bat. So he’s a risk / reward type of player that can win you a contest or cost you a whole lot of salary.

Bowlers

Love it – Liam Bowe ($10,800 Draftstars)

This pick will be mainly based on the fact that the Stars took 5 wickets in the spin department against the Scorchers on Saturday. Which includes the part-time tweakers of Nic Maddinson and Maxwell. Bowe is going to be one of the cheapest bowlers on the slate and while he didn’t bowl last game, he’s taken 3 wickets in 7 overs this season. Making him a viable cheap bowling option.

Don’t Love it – Chris Jordan ($15,900 Draftstars)

While he’s been called into England ODI / T20 squad in South Africa, Jordan just doesn’t take enough wickets to justify his price tag at the moment. He’s gone wicketless in the Scorchers last 2 games and also recorded an economy rate bonus in just 2 of 11 games. After facing Richardson, teams are targeting the likes of Jordan for quick runs. So he’s an easy fade at the moment. 

Who Knows? – Matthew Kelly ($14,300 Draftstars)

His 3 wicket haul at the MCG on Saturday kind of came out of nowhere after missing a few games and the question is whether he can reach that ceiling again. At Optus Stadium, he has conceded 96 runs in his last 8 overs with just 1 wicket against the Hurricanes and Sixers. So he’s going to be heavily owned after scoring 98.5 pts but his form at this venue is concerning.