The second match of Monday’s BBL Double Header takes us to Brisbane for the matchup between the home team Brisbane Heat and the travelling Melbourne Stars. With the Boxing Day Test continuing at the MCG, the Gabba will host a friendly Queensland time slot. With the weather looking murky throughout the day, we may be looking at the radar when the teams and bat flip is done. Note this game will get underway at 2105 AEDT tonight.

 

Draftstars has put up a $15,000 contest, with top prize $1,133.

 

 

This is second time at the Gabba for the tournament and it turns out that the ground is a fantasy friendly, being ranked in the top 2 in fantasy points scored (not counting Alice Springs in our Data Tools) but some games have been weather effected in the past. The team batting second has won 3 out of the 4 past matches (the exception being the Heat falling to 143 all out in Game 14).   

 

Heat Predicted XI: Lynn, Bryant, Cooper, Duckett, Heazlett, Peirson (c,wk), Bazley, Steketee, Kuhnemann, Guthrie, Mujeeb

 

Stars Predicted XI: Stoinis, Clarke (wk), Maxwell (c), Burns, Russell, Cartwright, Webster, Coulter-Nile, Zampa, Ahmad, Couch

 

The Stars were disappointed to leave Hobart with the loss against the Hurricanes on Christmas Eve. Unable to chase down the 180 target, the Stars don’t want to get into the trap of relying on Glenn Maxwell to do the heavy work. They do however welcome back Adam Zampa who comes back fresh after a mini break over Christmas. The Stars spin attack of Qais Ahmad and Clint Hinchliffe were no match for the Hurricanes batters, and I am expecting Hinchliffe to make way for Zampa. Pakistan quick Haris Rauf was not named in the squad. On paper it is a much better-looking batting lineup after Joe Burns made his debut at number 4 (replacing Nick Larkin) and Joe Clark finally making runs at the top of the order. The Stars top 6 should thrive on this surface in what will be Andre Russell’s last game of his stint.

 

The Heat looked pretty good against the Strikers back in Adelaide last Thursday with Ben Duckett and Sam Heazlett powering their way to a 200+ score. All top 6 batsman scored at a very fast clip, but the Heat will be buoyed by the innings of Duckett. One thing to note for the Heat, we haven’t received a squad update on Monday morning as we need updates on Jack Wildermuth and Xavier Bartlett, as both players were X-factors on Thursday. The Heat bowled a tight 5-man rotation against the Strikers which perfect if you are trying to predict bowlers. But this is the Heat, and they always seem to mess with a good thing. Late night tinkering is almost certain.

 

Looking for Draftstars scores from previous editions from the BBL? Our Free Players Logs + Ground Fantasy breakdowns are now available in Data Tools

 

Love It – Adam Zampa $16,200

I wrote up Rashid Khan against Heat batsman as a big play last week. And whilst Khan got the tap around the ground, he did get three wickets. So, I am applying the logic to the Stars’ best bowler in Zampa. Fresh after a mini-break and at a price that is very easy to get into your Draftstars lineups. 13 wickets at 6.76 economy rate in his previous 12 games against the Heat.   

 

Love It – Brody Couch $11,500

This slate is shaping up as a pretty balanced build if you ignore the likes of Maxwell and Stoinis up top. However, if you want to get to the top two then consider the young Stars quick. Has taken a wicket in each match and has bowled an average of 3.5 overs per game. While Nathan Coulter-Nile is now the big death/powerplay bowler, I still expect Couch to play a part at the end of the innings.

 

Don’t Love It – Marcus Stoinis $18,600

I have played Stoin when no one was going to play him, I have played Stoin when he said he wasn’t going to bowl, I have played Stoin when he had a perfect matchup in Hobart. So now with his price falling and out of form, its time to jump off and watch him score 50+ off 30 balls…

 

Don’t Love It – Matt Kuhnemann $12,100

The young spinner took full advantage of a poor Strikers batting order by taking three wickets. He did however go for big runs, which is key for me here. If Kuhnemann can’t break through the likes of Russell, Maxwell, Burns etc then I can’t see pathways for a decent fantasy score.

 

Who Knows – Xavier Bartlett / Jack Wildermuth

Mainly from a Draftstars point of view, these two are good two-dimensional players who possess good pace with the ball and a handy lower order bat. It’s whether let them back into the side as clearly, they are best XI material. These two could play a part in X-factor knowing the Heat but we are going to wait for the teams at the flip to play either of these two.

 

Suggested Draftstars Lineup  

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