Who will win Melbourne Stars vs Brisbane Heat BBL 28th match?
Table toppers Melbourne Stars will face second placed Brisbane Heat in the 28th fixture of the ongoing Big Bash League 2016-17. The match will be played on January 17 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Live action is scheduled to begin at 7:40 PM local time.
Toss
Five out of the last seven BBL matches played at the MCG have been won by the side batting second. Therefore, toss is going to play an important role in this match and whoever wins it on Tuesday might prefer to chase. Melbourne Stars have won four of these seven matches after batting second. So we strongly suggest betting on the hosts if they are going to be chasing.
Read on for team previews, betting tips, odds and match prediction for Melbourne Stars vs Brisbane Heat, Big Bash League 2016-17...
Melbourne Stars Team News & Playing 11
Team News
There are no injuries in the side and they are likely to retain the same playing eleven that played the last match against the Perth Scorchers.
Key Players
Kevin Pietersen and Rob Quiney have been the two most bankable batsmen in the team. Pietersen is averaging 56 with a couple of fifties. He looked solid in his knock of 44 against the Scorchers and we predict him to get the big runs against the Heat as well. Ben Hilfenhaus and Scott Boland took two wickets each in the last match. Both the pacers have taken 10 wickets each so far and will be the ones to watch out for in this match.
Recent Form
Melbourne Stars have won four and lost two out of their six league matches and are currently occupying the pole position in the standings. They have beaten Melbourne Renegades, Adelaide Strikers and Perth Scorchers in their previous three matches.
Melbourne Stars Predicted XI
-
RJ Quiney, LJ Wright, KP Pietersen, PSP Handscomb (wk), MP Stoinis, DJ Hussey (c), EP Gulbis, BW Hilfenhaus, SM Boland, MA Beer, CJ Gannon.
Brisbane Heat Team News & Playing 11
Team News
The team will be without the services of their skipper Brendon McCullum in this match as the Kiwi batsman has been banned for one match because of slow over-rate in the last match against the Perth Scorchers.
Key Players
With no Lynn and McCullum around, Brisbane Heat will be looking forward to special contributions from Joe Burns and Alex Ross with the bat. Though they have not been outstanding, they are the only ones at the moment who could get their team into a good position. Mitchell Swepson and Mark Steketee have been the pick of their bowling lineup this year with 9 wickets each. The conditions at the MCG will suit Steketee more and so we predict him to perform well for his side.
Recent Form
Like Melbourne Stars, Brisbane Heat too have four wins and two losses from six matches but are placed second on the points table due to lower net run-rate. They lost their last match to Perth Scorchers which was their second defeat in the last three matches.
Brisbane Heat Predicted XI
-
JJ Peirson (wk), SD Heazlett, AI Ross, JA Burns, NJ Reardon, BCJ Cutting, JD Wildermuth, MT Steketee, MJ Swepson and TS Mills. (Brendon McCullum's replacement has not been announced yet).
Melbourne Stars vs Brisbane Heat Head to Head
Five matches have been played between the two teams till date of which three have been won by Brisbane Heat and two by Melbourne Stars. The former have won the last two encounters which includes the solitary face-off at the MCG.
Melbourne Stars vs Brisbane Heat Betting Odds
Melbourne Stars are showing good form having won their last three matches in a row. Brisbane Heat have also been equally impressive this season but will be coming from a defeat in their last game. But it's not only the defeat that has gone against their liking, they have also lost their skipper and star batsman Brendom McCullum to a one-match suspension. This is primarily the reason why they are at such high odds for this match at 2.56 with betfair and 2.37 with bet365. The Stars are playing at home and are overwhelming favorites to win at 1.63 and 1.61 respectively.
Melbourne Stars vs Brisbane Heat Prediction
Brisbane Heat beat Melbourne Stars the last couple of times these two sides met. But winning without the likes of Lynn and McCullum, who have been the key to their success so far, will be an uphill task for them. Not only have they lost a dangerous batsman but also an innovative captain in McCullum and their performance is more likely to go downhill due to this. Though the stars have lost two of their last three matches at the MCG, they are still firm favorites to win this contest with Pietersen, Hilfenhaus and Boland all doing good in their respective departments.
Final Verdict: Back Melbourne Stars to beat Brisbane Heat at 1.63 with betfair and 1.61 with bet365.
Jan 17, 2017
13:10 IST / 7:40 GMT
Melbourne Cricket Ground - Melbourne, Australia
Leave Your Comment
We do our best to give you most accurate & useful match predictions and would love to hear from you. Let us know if we need to improve. Share your own predictions for the matches. Let's talk: