The 2021/22 BBL season, the premier T20 cricket competition in Australia, kicks off this Sunday. Sydney Sixers are still the reigning champions after clinching its 3rd title after successfully defending its crown last season. Here we take a look at some of the best matches from the opening week.
Match 1: Sydney Sixers v Melbourne Stars
888Sport Betting Odds
Sydney Sixers: 1.727
Melbourne Stars: 2.10
The Sixers will head into this fixture as the favourite and it arguably has the best squad in the tournament. Their two opening-batsmen James Vince and Josh Philippe both finished among the top-5 scorers with over 500 runs. With Ben Dwarshuis, Sean Abbott and Jackson Bird they have a pretty fast-bowling attack as well.
Melbourne Stars have plenty of talent in the squad but finding consistency was a big issue in the last season. Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell are the two standout names of their powerful batting line-up. Nathan Coulter-Nile, Haris Rauf and Billy Stanlake will comprise a fine pace-battery with Adam Zampa as the one of the best spin-bowlers in the shortest-format.
Prediction
The Stars should make this a close-fought encounter but the Sixers should just about have enough in the tank to clinch a narrow victory.
Sydney Sixers at 1.727 on 888Sport
Match 2: Sydney Thunder v Brisbane Heat
888Sport Betting Odds
Sydney Thunder: 1.85
Brisbane Heat: 1.95
Sydney Thunder looks a very balanced unit from the outset and they’ll be led by Usman Khawaja this year. Hales and Khawaja will open the batting followed by Oliver Davies and Alex Ross. Thunder have some excellent all rounders in the form of Chris Green, Ben Cutting and Daniel Sams. The bowling unit looks decent with the likes of Brendan Doggett, Jonathan Cook, Tanveer Sangha and Nathan McAndrew.
Brisbane Heat enjoyed a stellar campaign before falling to the Scorchers in the penultimate match of the tournament. Chris Lynn put on a memorable season with Jimmy Peirson and Max Bryant also contributing more than 300 runs. Mark Steketee, Xavier Bartlett and Jack Wildermuth will be the seamers with Mujeeb Ur Rahman as the primary spin-bowler of the attack.
Prediction
While the Heat can be a mercurial side, the Scorchers are probably the most consistent side in the BBL and are therefore likely to wrap up the victory.
Sydney Thunder at 1.85 on 888Sport
Match 3: Melbourne Renegades v Adelaide Strikers
888Sport Betting Odds
Melbourne Renegades: 2.00
Adelaide Strikers: 1.80
Despite winning the title in 2018/19, Melbourne Renegades have taken the wooden spoon for the past couple of seasons. While individual performances have been decent, the team failed to deliver as a unit as Sam Harper and Shaun Marsh were the only batters to get over 200 runs. Fast-bowling ace Kane Richardson will take up the captaincy for the upcoming matches.
A highly talented squad with loads of experience, Adelaide Strikers will hope to do better than its disappointing 5th place finish. Alex Carey and Travis Head are both absent but there is enough batting ability in the form of Jake Weatherald, Phil Salt and Jono Wells. Peter Siddle and Wes Agar are the two main fast-bowlers with Rashid Khan as the trump-card of the bowling-unit.
Prediction
The Strikers stack up as a significantly better side than the Renegades and should have no problems in getting a result.
Adelaide Strikers at 1.80 on 888Sport
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