The Brisbane Heat finally return to the Gabba in BBL09 as they meet the injury-riddled Hobart Hurricanes on Thursday night. The Heat are sitting mid-table but come off back to back victories, including one over the ‘Canes. Meanwhile, Hobart are sitting 7th with a 3-3 record and will be without a couple of stars.

First of all, along with our famous  FREE Cheat Sheets and Data Tools in our Data Tools section, new for the BBL09 season, Daily Fantasy Rankings presents the Draftstars Lineup Builder! Using our Data Tools and Projections you will be able to quickly build and import BBL teams into Draftstars by using the CSV upload. Access the Builder including tutorials on how the builder works by clicking the banner below.

 

Draftstars have posted a $20,000 contest for a $15 entry, as well as a $1,500 Mini and even a $200 Single Entry contest for a $10 buy-in. Moneyball are offering a $5,000 contest for a $15 entry as well as a $500 guarantee on their $2 contest.

After the Heat took a few home games down the M1 to Metricon Stadium, the Big Bash is back at the Gabba and most of the Batsman will be looking forward to a pacey wicket. In terms of batting fantasy points, the Gabba is ranked 2nd in BBL (just behind Canberra by 3 points). It’s also the number 1 venue for fantasy points scored in the BBL since last year. In the first and only game at the Gabba this season, we saw a good contest between bat and ball. The Thunder posted 172/6 batting first and the Heat lost 3 wickets in the powerplay as they were bowled out for 143. 

 

The Aussies ODI tour to India has thrown in a lot of question marks for BBL lineups, however the Heat are one of the luckier teams. They’ll only miss Marnus Labuschagne, who hasn’t played a game this season anyway. They’ll also get Joe Burns and James Pattinson (won’t play on Thursday) back from Test duties. Tom Banton produced the 2nd fastest 50 in BBL history last time out as the Heat beat the Thunder in the rain-shortened match. This is Banton’s last innings before he exits the BBL so look for him to finish with a bang. Max Bryant is finding some good form with the bat and Chris Lynn is always a popular option at the Gabba, especially with the ‘Canes bowling injuries. Burns should slot into the middle order with Renshaw and with Cutting likely at 6, they have a great batting lineup. In the bowling department, Prestwidge is the best value with 5 wickets in 3 games and he’s still very well priced. Swepson should also return to the lineup but it’ll be interesting to see if he bowls 4 overs after just 2 in his first game at the Gabba this season.

 

 

The Hurricanes come to Brisbane with a lot of question marks. Firstly, D’Arcy Short is off to India and finished in perfect fashion with a magnificent century at Optus Stadium on the last ball of the innings. The good news for the ‘Canes is Matty Wade will be a perfect replacement at the top of the order. Caleb Jewell could be a sneaky play with good batting form at the moment. But in the middle order, they’d love to see Ben McDermott really hit a big score and David Miller has been pretty disappointing fantasy-wise. Now in the bowling department, they have a lot of issues. Riley Meredith has been ruled out for the season and that should see David Moody come in. But without Meredith and Faulkner, they’re overall bowling options look fairly weak. Especially since Ahmad isn’t in great form and likely won’t enjoy the Gabba wicket. Ellis has also struggled with his economy rate in his last 2 outings. However, I do like Boland’s price considering his 2 wicket haul against the Scorchers.

 

The Heat and Hurricanes recently met in Hobart where the Heat smashed the 3rd highest BBL total in history (212). However, the ‘Canes have won 4 of the last 5 meetings, including the last 2 at the Gabba. You do have to consider their injuries at the moment and no Short as well.

 

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

Batsmen

 

Love it – Tom Banton ($16,800 Draftstars)

Last game in BBL09 for the Englishman and he’ll get a nice matchup to finish off with. The ’Canes are missing a few strike bowlers in the powerplay overs and we know what Banton can do when he gets his eye in. He’s coming off an incredible 56 off 19 against the Thunder. There’s no trouble with strike rate bonuses and he can hit a 100+ DS score when he bats past the powerplay.

 

Don’t Love It? – David Miller ($15,800 Draftstars)

The South African hasn’t offered much this season and likely will be at low ownership for a reason. He also picked up a calf issue against the Scorchers and that’s not a great sign either.

 

Who Knows? – Matthew Wade ($19,100 Draftstars)

While the Aussies dominated this Test summer, Matty Wade didn’t really take his opportunity with a return of just 217 runs in 7 innings. However, he’s back in the BBL and should be ready to unleash. He’s coming off 592 runs in BBL08 (2nd in the comp) and should open the batting with Short in India. However, there is an interesting element to be aware of with Wade because he doesn’t have a great record against the Heat with just 44 runs in his last 4 innings.

 

Bowlers

 

Love it – Jack Prestwidge ($11,300 Draftstars)

A proven wicket-taker with 5 in his last 3 games should be well worth $11.3k price tag. He hits the pitch hard, bowls at the death and should be in play for more wickets if the Hurricanes lose early wickets. With a nice floor of 24 in his last 5 BBL games, Prestwidge is a solid cheap bowling option.

 

Don’t Love it – Qais Ahmad ($16,900 Draftstars)

Ahmad continues to be an easy fade at the moment with a ceiling of just 44 in his last 5 games and faces another tough matchup at the Gabba. Spinners generally struggle at this venue and it’s ranked 8th in the league for bowling points. So he’s simply too expensive at the moment.

 

Who Knows? – David Moody ($10,700 Draftstars)

The injury to Riley Meredith opens up a bowling spot and David Moody could be a sneaky play. Obviously, he hasn’t played this season which puts him in the unknown territory. But he’s cheap enough to take a risk on, especially if you’re looking to stack Batsman at the Gabba. Interestingly, he also took 2 for 27 against the Heat last season and finished BBL08 with 5 wickets from 15 overs.

 

 

 

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