BBL07: Sydney Thunder vs Perth Scorchers, 25th Match Preview
With inclusions of batsmen on both sides, teams will be looking to strengthen their batting department.
Form Guide This Season
Sydney Thunder have won two out of their six matches and are currently sitting sixth in the points table. They started their journey with a win but failed to keep that momentum and now they will be heading to this game after two consecutive losses.
Perth Scorchers have started the season as defending champions and they have played exactly like that. They have already won five out of their six matches and are sitting on the top of the points table.
Where
Sydney Thunder are going to host Perth Scorchers for the 25th match of BBL07 at The Sydney Showground Stadium, which is also known as Spotless Stadium. This is the home ground for Sydney Thunder but they do not have a good record here as they have only won three out of 11 matches played. In this season also they have managed to win only one home match which was powered by Shane Watson's 77 runs.
Team News and Squad Changes
There are three changes in Sydney Thunder's squad and Perth Scorchers have made four changes in their squad.
Sydney Thunder: Usman Khawaja, James Vince and Jay Lenton are added into the squad and Jos Buttler(national commitments), Ryan Gibson and Aiden Blizzard will miss out.
Perth Scorchers: Cameron Bancroft, Tim Bresnan, Matthew Kelly and Haydan Morton are added to the squad and Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye (national commitments), David Willey (national commitments) and James Muirhead (injury) are released from the squad.
Possible Playing 11
For Sydney Thunder, all three players added to their squad are expected to get a chance as the ones who had been playing earlier were not performing well. Jay Lenton will be the wicketkeeper for Sydney Thunder.
Probable Batting Order: Usman Khawaja, Kurtis Patterson, Shane Watson(c), Callum Ferguson, James Vince, Jay Lenton(wk), Arjun Nair, Chris Green, Gurinder Sandhu, Mitchell McClenaghan, Fawad Ahmed
For Perth Scorchers, Cameron Bancroft and Tim Bresnan are almost sure to play and Joel Paris might get another chance after missing the last game. Either one of Matthew Kelly or Haydan Morton is certain to get a chance, in which case Tim David has to sit out as there will be no place for another batsman.
Probable Batting Order: Cameron Bancroft, Michael Klinger, Hilton Cartwright, Ashton Turner, Tim Bresnan, Adam Voges(c), Ashton Agar, Josh Inglis(wk), Mitchell Johnson, Joel Paris, Matthew Kelly/Haydan Morton
What To Expect From The Match
Batting order collapses have been common for Sydney Thunder this season, but now they have three new batsmen who can give stability to their batting.
Perth Scorchers might be on the top of the points table as of now, but if you look closely at their results, most of the wins are because of their bowlers and some heroics from Ashton Turner. Now they don't have the services of their lead wicket taker Andrew Tye, so it will be a tough situation for them as well.
Players to Watch Out For
Usman Khawaja: Sydney Thunder will rely a lot on him, as he opens the innings and has the highest average of all time BBL 51.18 with a strike rate of 127.96. He also scored 171 runs in the last Ashes Test match.
Tim Bresnan: His capabilities with both bat and ball will be welcomed by Perth Scorchers as he has to play the role of David Willey.
Announced Squads of both teams:
Sydney Thunder
Shane Watson (c), Fawad Ahmed, Callum Ferguson, Andrew Fekete, Chris Green, Jay Lenton, Usman Khawaja, Arjun Nair, Mitch McClenaghan, Kurtis Patterson, Ben Rohrer, Gurinder Sandhu, James Vince
Perth Scorchers
Adam Voges , Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Will Bosisto, Tim Bresnan, Hilton Cartwright, Tim David, Mitchell Johnson, Matthew Kelly, Michael Klinger, Haydan Morton, Joel Paris, Ashton Turner