HEA vs STA T20 Match Prediction & Betting Tips, BBL 2023
The 2023-24 BBL season begins on Thursday evening as Brisbane Heat take on Melbourne Stars at the Gabba. Heat went all the way to the final in last year’s tournament before being beaten by Perth Scorchers whereas Melbourne Stars finished bottom of the table with only three victories all campaign. Read on as we preview this game. The match gets underway at 19:15 local time.
International call-ups and injuries meant that Brisbane Heat had to expand their squad across last season but whoever they picked they were able to step up and perform. With plenty of experience in the team for this game, we would be surprised if Brisbane Heat did not get off to a winning start.
After finishing eighth with two wins over the team in seventh and a victory over the team in sixth, Melbourne Stars will need to improve on their record against the stronger sides. This will be a tough opener for the Stars against a very strong Brisbane Heat.
Brisbane Heat vs Melbourne Stars T20 Match Live Streaming
TV channels: This game will be broadcast on Sky Sports Cricket, Fox Sports, Seven Network and the Star Sports Network.
Live Streaming: You can live-stream the match on Kayo, Sky Go and Disney+ Hotstar.
HEA vs STA Match Toss Prediction
As six of the last seven BBL games have been won by the team batting first in Brisbane, we predict that both captains will choose to bat first if they win the toss on Thursday evening.
HEA vs STA Pitch Report
We can expect to see a typical early season Gabba pitch in Brisbane for this match. That means one with plenty of pace and a par score is likely to be over 175.
Brisbane Weather Report
Dry conditions are the norm in Brisbane and there is no danger of any rain on Thursday evening at the Gabba. The temperature will be around 26 degrees throughout this match.
Read on for team previews, betting tips, latest odds, and match prediction for Brisbane Heat vs Melbourne Stars, BBL 2023
Brisbane Heat Team News & Playing 11
HEA Team News
With the First Test of the Australia versus Pakistan series not far away, Brisbane Heat will be without Nathan McSweeney, Jimmy Peirson and Matt Renshaw who are all playing for the Prime Minister’s XI. However, skipper Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne are available before linking up with the Test side.
HEA Key Players
- Colin Munro - The powerful New Zealand middle-order batter comes straight to this year’s tournament after two impressive innings for Northern Warriors in the Abu Dhabi T10 where he hit 36 not out and 44 not out.
- Marnus Labuschagne - The right-handed all-format Australian international is often written off in white ball cricket but has proved over recent months that he is a more than capable player in limited overs matches.
- Michael Neser - The vastly experienced bowling all-rounder is a wicket away from bringing up 100 dismissals in the BBL. His 99 wickets have come at an average of 17.54.
- Matthew Kuhnemann - The 27 year old left-arm spinner enjoys bowling on the dry surfaces of Brisbane and has best BBL figures of 3/17.
HEA Team Form
Brisbane Heat lost in the final in last year’s BBL after winning three games in a row beforehand.
Brisbane Heat Predicted Playing 11
Josh Brown, Usman Khawaja (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Colin Munro, Sam Billings (wk), Paul Walter, Max Bryant, Spencer Johnson, Michael Neser, Mitch Swepson, Matthew Kuhnemann
Melbourne Stars Team News & Playing 11
STA Team News
Although Melbourne Stars will be without England international Harry Brook for BBL 2023, the return of Glenn Maxwell to lead the team will give the squad a massive boost. They have talent in their side and just need to add confidence to become competitive again.
STA Key Players
- Glenn Maxwell - with 2673 runs, the 35 year old is the fifth highest run scorer in BBL history. Having him available for the entire tournament will make a huge difference for the Stars.
- Marcus Stoinis - The batting all-rounder is one of the most powerful players in the tournament and he will be happy opening the innings or playing the finisher role for the side.
- Tom Rogers - Only three bowlers picked up more wickets than the 29 year old bowling all-rounder in last year’s BBL. He has an impressive strike-rate of 16.8 in T20 cricket.
- Haris Rauf - The all-format Pakistan international star has an excellent T20 record with 6x four wicket hauls and 1x five wicket haul.
STA Team Form
Melbourne Stars finished bottom of the table and lost four games in a row to end last year’s tournament.
Melbourne Stars Predicted Playing 11
Sam Harper (wk), Nick Larkin, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell (c), Hilton Cartwright, Tom Rogers, Liam Dawson, Corey Rocchiccioli, Brody Couch, Haris Rauf, Nathan Coulter-Nile
Brisbane Heat vs Melbourne Stars Head to Head
Brisbane Heat won by 4 runs and by 3 wickets in two close contests between the sides during last year’s tournament. However, the season before, Melbourne Stars won both matches.
HEA vs STA Head to Head Stats in T20s
| |
Matches Played |
HEA Won |
STA Won |
Tie |
No Result |
| Overall |
18 |
11 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
| Last 5 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
Brisbane Heat vs Melbourne Stars Betting Odds
After going all the way to the final, it is no surprise to see Brisbane Heat as favourites and they can be backed at 1.72 with the bookies. Melbourne Stars are the underdogs at 2.05.
Who will win Brisbane Heat vs Melbourne Stars T20 Match?
A fit Glenn Maxwell alongside Marcus Stoinis at his best does make for a strong Melbourne Stars side but it is Brisbane Heat who have the consistent BBL performers from recent years which makes them the top team for this match.
Dec 07, 2023
13:45 IST / 8:15 GMT
The Gabba - Brisbane, 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: