The Melbourne Stars and the Sydney Sixers will clash in a mouth-watering BBL11 contest on Wednesday evening. The action kicks off at 7:15pm AEDT from the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

 

Draftstars has put up a $25,000 contest, with top prize $2,480.

 

 

The Stars were back to their best in their clash with the Thunder, and the injection of some marquee players has certainly given them a boost. Marcus Stoinis is back to solidify the top order, while Andre Russell was at his belligerent best to give their batting some real venom. Throw in Glenn Maxwell and Joe Clarke, who has yet to fire in this tournament so far, and the Stars have to be considered a real contender this season.

 

Perhaps their only worry is with their bowling depth. They seem to have plenty of options on paper, but some of them seem vulnerable. Brody Couch is still learning the ropes, Marcus Stoinis has a side strain and Beau Webster is currently the most under-utilised cricketer in the country.

 

They might be called upon when they run into the Sydney Sixers batting line up. Josh Philippe and Moises Henriques are on the cusp of national selection, and both are in sublime form. The Sixers haven’t really had to call on much else so far this season, but they have some massive hitting power down the order with Dan Christian who is waiting for his chance to fire.

 

The Sixers split their opening games with the Hurricanes, but it took an amazing innings from Matthew Wade to do it. Perhaps that raises some questions about the Sixers bowling with both Tom Curran and Chris Jordan getting blasted out of the attack. Expect them to bounce back this match, at potentially lower ownership. Ben Dwarshius appears likely to come into the side with Sean Abbott missing

 

Stars Likely XI:  Clarke, Stoinis, Larkin, Maxwell, Cartwright, Webster, Russell, Coulter-Nile, Zampa, Ahmad, Couch

 

Sixers Likely XI: Philippe, Vince, Henriques, Hughes, Silk, Christian, Curran, Jordan, Dwarshius, Kerr, O’Keefe

 

Looking for Draftstars scores from previous editions from the BBL? Our Free Players Logs are now available in Data Tools

 

Love It - Dan Christian ($14,300)

 

That’s a great price for one of the best T20 all-rounders in the world. He’s going to be involved in the game, whether it’s fielding, bowling or batting. Sure, Christian is getting on a bit in age, and he hasn’t done much in the first few games, but he’s due to land some lusty blows, and if he does, then he can post a contest-winning fantasy score!

 

Love It - Chris Jordan ($13,100)

 

We’re going to back the Englishman to bounce back here, and at the price, Jordan looks a nice pick of the bowlers, hopefully at low ownership. He’ll bowl at the top and bottom of the innings, which is ideal for wicket taking, and also offers a three-dimensional output with the ball, in the field, or potentially with some late-order hitting.

 

Don’t Love It - Hayden Kerr ($12,300)

 

Has all-round ability but is not getting much of a chance in a star-studded Sixers outfit. Seems to be their last choice with the ball and batting well down the order with the bat, makes Kerr a tough fantasy choice.

 

Don’t Love It - Dan Hughes ($9,500)

 

Not having his best BBL season, Hughes has never been a big striker of the ball, so with Philippe and Henriques in such good form, Hughes has found himself out of position and role. Hughes is one-dimensional, so if he doesn’t make runs, then there’s just no fantasy score to speak of. Only value is as a point-of-difference play but would rather some other cheapies in this match.

 

Who Knows - Joe Clarke ($12,700)

 

We’ve been told that Joe Clarke is ready to go large in BBL11 but we’re all still waiting for it to happen. He’s opening the batting, and keeping, which is prime for fantasy scoring, but so far he’s been a complete flop. Is he just not good enough or will this be the match where he explodes? Ownership may be down based on form, so he might be worth sticking with, but you might find yourself disappointed once again. Who knows?

 

Suggested Draftstars Lineup

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