The Scorchers and the Strikers will clash as the second match on Saturday night from Sydney Showground Stadium - an unlikely venue for these two teams, but such is the nature of covid-related fixturing. Both teams are coming off a win, so whether or not a live crowd turns up to this one, it should be a spirited contest that will help shape the winner’s road towards a finals berth.

 

The Scorchers opened their BBL11 account with a narrow win over the Heat on Wednesday night. Kurtis Patterson was sublime in spanking 55 off 30 balls in a surprise return for any fantasy coaches who had faith to stick with him. No one else really got going, although Ashton Turner looked threatening without going on with it. Fortunately for the Scorchers, 4 wickets from Matt Kelly were enough to keep the Heat in check. Andrew Tye picked up 2 wickets, while Ashton Agar was economical in his return from the Australian World Cup squad. No changes to the 13 man squad for this match. 


The Strikers split their back-to-back matches against the Melbourne Renegades, which doesn’t read as the best form line, but they were certainly more convincing on Thursday night in front of their home crowd. Matt Short has been lighting it up at the top of the order, but can he keep that up? While Jono Wells also chipped in on Thursday. Batting is still most definitely their concern, and they’ll be looking for Jake Weatherald to make an impression after a slow start to BBL11.

 

Fortunately, the Strikers are looking strong with the ball. Rashid Khan is at his dazzling best, George Garton looks a strong import, while Peter Siddle, Daniel Worrall and Man-of-the-Match Wes Agar form a consistent combination. But can they control the fire power of the Scorchers?  Fawad Ahmad and Harry Conway have been included in the 15 man squad, so keep an eye out on teams for this one.

 

If this was in Perth, then you’d fancy the Scorchers, but the Strikers should be more competitive at the neutral venue.

 

Draftstars are offering another $15,000 contest for this match, with a great range of high-roller and micro-stakes contests available as well.

 

 

Scorchers Likely XI: Munro, Bancroft, Patterson, Evans, Turner, Hardie, Agar, Tye, Kelly, Behrendorff, Hatzoglou

 

Strikers Likely XI: Short, Weatherald, Nielsen, Wells, Drew, Scott, Garton, Khan, Worrall, Agar, Siddle

 

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BBL Draftstars Scores

 

Love It - Kurtis Patterson ($11,400)

 

There’s a number of expensive bowlers on this slate, so if you’re going to save some salary, it’s probably going to come from the batting side of things. I didn’t think I’d be nominating Kurtis Patterson as a play in Round 2 of the season, but how could you not be anything but impressed with his last innings. He’s always been a classy batsman, but it was believed that T20 cricket wasn’t his best format. However, Patterson was superb against the Heat, so at $11,400 and batting at number three, it’s hard not to recommend backing up again on Patto!

 

Love It - Harry Nielsen ($10,200)

 

Similarly, it’s never a bad play to back the number three at such a budget price. Nielsen hasn’t looked terrible in his two innings to date, even if he has struggled to get much above a run-a-ball. He’s shown enough to suggest he could break out and play a significant innings soon. However, it’s also worth highlighting Nielsen’s excellent work with the gloves on Thursday night. He took a great catch off a reverse sweep to the bowling of Rashid Khan, which is about as hard as it gets, and followed up with a diving one-handed screamer a short time later. Catches do add valuable points to your score, so at a basement price, Nielsen looks a fine play.

 

Don’t Love It - Liam Scott ($8,800) and Daniel Drew ($9,000)

 

When we’ve got two great cheap options mentioned above, I have to suggest that Scott and Drew are the opposite. Any players who bat at 5 or 6 and don’t bowl have to be played with caution. They are really only a point-of-difference play, as it’s hard to see them contributing much to the game other than some late order hitting. Both are relatively new on the scene so that’s a big ask.

 

Don’t Love It - Ashton Agar ($15,300)

 

Has climbed significantly in price from last match, and I’m just not sure if he’s worth the price. Doesn’t seem to be threatening to take wickets and is used more to try and control the run rate. That’s great for the economy bonus, but I don’t want to just rely on that. You’d like to see Agar make some runs as well. He’s certainly good enough, but batting at 7 or 8, it’s been a long time since Agar made a valuable contribution with the bat.

 

Who Knows - Rashid Khan ($21,100)

 

The best fantasy player in the game might seem like an odd one for the “Who Knows” section but it comes down to a combination of price and ownership. Always heavily owned and that’s understandable, and he also scored well on Thursday with both bat and ball. However, his price is getting up there at $21,100. That’s a large chunk of change! At what point does Khan go from a must-have to a fade? There are some cheap options on this slate as we already mentioned, which means that you can fit him in, but are we better to hope for an off night, take on the field and go with some of the other quality bowling options? It’s a make-or-break decision for this slate! Good luck!

 

Suggested Draftstars Lineup  

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