SCO v STA Prediction: Who will win the BBL match?
The Melbourne Stars will look to preserve their 100% record as they take on the Perth Scorchers in what promises to be another cracking contest in the 2020 BBL.
Having earned maximum points from their first two BBL fixtures, the Stars are flying high and are full of confidence at the moment. On the other hand, the Perth Scorchers are still searching for their first win, having tasted defeat at the hands of the Melbourne Renegades in their opening BBL game.
The Scorchers could only muster 130 runs in their BBL season opener against the Gades, with big-name players Colin Munro, Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis all failing to impress with the bat. They certainly cannot afford a similar top-order collapse on Wednesday against the Stars, who have assembled one of the best squads in BBL history.
The Stars have yet to break a sweat in this season's tournament. With Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Adam Zampa in top form, few would bet against them in this BBL game against the Scorchers.
The Stars will be without Pakistani pacer Dilbar Hussain, who has been ruled out for the next 4-6 weeks with a hamstring strain. But Nic Maddinson is back from Australia A duty, and will bolster their already impressive batting order.
The Perth Scorchers will also be without a key pacer on Wednesday, as Jason Behrendorff is set to miss the game due to the birth of his second child. Matt Kelly and Joel Paris will fight it out to join Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye and Fawad Ahmed in the bowling attack. Ashton Agar remains out with an injury, while Liam Livingstone and Jason Roy are not available yet.
Richardson goes into the game on the back of an impressive display in the defeat to the Renegades, as he scalped the wickets of Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh. That was no doubt an encouraging sign for the Scorchers, and also for the Australia selectors.
The Scorchers will also be boosted by the form of Aaron Hardie, who was their top-scorer in the first game with 33. The young gun also bowled one over, conceding just four runs.
BBL 2020-21 Match 9, Scorchers vs Stars: Match Prediction
On paper, the Scorchers have enough to take the game to this formidable Stars team. But whether they can actually give them a fair fight remains to be seen.
The Stars look better than ever in all departments, and even though it is still very early in the tournament, they seem to be a class above the other teams.
The Scorchers will need to play out of their skins to get a result on Wednesday, and even that may not be enough if Maxwell and Stoinis are at the top of their game. Their bowling attack can compete with almost any team in the world, but one can't help but feel that they are a little light when it comes to top-order batsmen.
Andre Fletcher has yet to get going in this year's BBL for the Stars, and he will be keen to change that. Ben Dunk, who impressed in the PSL earlier this year, will set out to do the same.
The injury to Dilbar Hussain is a big blow for the Stars, with Haris Rauf and Imad Wasim not yet available for selection. But it could open the door for Nathan Coulter-Nile, who was the Man of the Match in the Stars' first BBL fixture of the season, to make his return.
The Scorchers will no doubt offer a big test to the Stars. But Maxwell's side are in superb form, and should make it three wins out of three in the BBL.