daily fantasy sports articles
BBL12 Fantasy Tips: Heat vs Scorchers
The Brisbane Heat will take on the Perth Scorchers in a BBL12 return fixture after the WA-based side cruised to an easy victory on Saturday night.
Both sides will head to The Gabba for this clash, which is a must-win for the Heat if they want to push for a finals berth.
Draftstars have put up a heap of contests to suit every budget, including Qualifiers for the new Big Bash Star competition.
Here Josh Nevett will give his DFS tips for this huge encounter.
Brisbane Heat vs Perth Scorchers
Heat Squad: Jimmy Peirson (c), Xavier Bartlett, James Bazley, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Brown (LRP), Max Bryant, Spencer Johnson, Matt Kuhnemann, Nathan McSweeney, Usman Khawaja, Michael Neser, Mark Steketee, Mitch Swepson, Ross Whiteley (ENG), Matt Renshaw
Scorchers Squad: Ashton Turner (C), Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Cooper Connolly, Aaron Hardie, Peter Hatzoglou, Nick Hobson, Josh Inglis (VC), Matt Kelly, Adam Lyth (ENG), Hamish McKenzie, Andrew Tye, Stephen Eskinazi (ENG), David Payne (ENG), Lance Morris, Ashton Agar
As expected, the Scorchers got the better of the Heat last weekend, chasing down 171 with relative ease.
Despite a strong start from openers Colin Munro (45 off 26) and Josh Brown (34 off 21), Brisbane were unable to produce a huge total as Matthew Kelly (2-28) and Andrew Tye (3-37) pegged things back.
In reply, Cameron Bancroft continued his strong form with 76* off 48 to guide the home side home, ably supported by Aaron Hardie (57 off 33).
The Heat and Scorchers will boast new-look squads heading into Wednesday night’s game, with both sides welcoming back Australian test cricket stars.
Key batting trio Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and Matt Renshaw will return for Brisbane, bolstering their stocks, while the Scorchers regain all-rounder Ashton Agar.
However, overseas stars Colin Munro and Sam Billings have completed their stints in Brisbane, so the positive additions are offset somewhat.
As such, the Scorchers will undoubtedly head into this encounter as favourites again.
Fantasy Plays:
Love It – Lance Morris ($12,800)
Morris returned to BBL cricket with a mixed performance on Saturday night, taking 2-40 off his four overs. Given his express pace, I expect ‘The Wild Thing’ to take plenty of wickets in the back end of the season, and the returning Heat batsmen may be a bit rusty in their first outing. As such, Morris looks like great value.
Love It – Mitchell Swepson ($10,700)
Stay with me here. Yes, Swepson has averaged just 3 DFS points this season, with one wicket in seven matches. However, this slate is devoid of solid value options and Swepson is an international quality T20 spinner. This is a low-risk play, with the possibility of great reward.
Don’t Love It – Marnus Labuschagne ($20,100)
Marnus has had yet another fantastic test summer with the bat, tallying plenty of runs against the West Indies and South Africa. He enters this slate as the top priced player, and while Labuschagne is undoubtedly a class act, I’m not sure if his T20 record justifies a $20k Draftstars price tag.
Don’t Love It – Ross Whiteley ($9,900)
Whiteley has been starved of opportunity all tournament and I expect that to continue on Wednesday. The English import has averaged 28 DFS points, which isn’t a terrible return at this price, but I can’t see Whiteley bowling many overs or facing many deliveries given the class of Brisbane’s returning trio.
Who Knows – Usman Khawaja ($16,600)
Fresh off 195* against South Africa, Khawaja will play his first BBL game of the campaign against Perth. The classy left-hander has a fantastic record as a T20 opener, but there is always an unknown surrounding how a player will adapt from the long form to T20 cricket.
Suggested Draftstars Line-up
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