Adelaide Strikers host defending champions Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash on Friday, when cricket tipster Richard Mann will be hoping to continue his red-hot form.
Cricket betting tips: Big Bash
2pts Both Teams To Score 180+ Runs at 4/1 (Betway)
1pt Perth Scorchers To Win & Both Teams To Score 170+ Runs at 7/2 (Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook)
1pt Perth Scorchers To Win & Both Teams To Score 180+ Runs at 8/1 (Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook)
On Friday, the Big Bash returns to Adelaide, scene of a run-fest on New Year's Eve when Melbourne Stars chased down 206 at a canter.
This ground has generally been one of the best places to bat in Australia, and there were 405 runs scored here when Adelaide Strikers beat Sydney Thunder earlier in the season. Last term, the Strikers scored 202-4 against the Melbourne Renegades and successfully chased 230 against Hobart Hurricanes.
What made New Year’s Eve such a perfect storm – and these pages were rewarded with winners at 22/1, 11/1 and 5/1 – was the weakness in both bowling attacks, the Strikers looking particularly vulnerable without the absent Rashid Khan.
Friday’s visitors, Perth Scorchers, are much better equipped in that department, given the strong pace stocks at their disposal, and it was Lance Morris’ turn to take centre stage when the Scorchers beat the Strikers in Perth as recently as Wednesday.
He took five wickets in that game, outperforming Jhye Richardson and AJ Tye, but after Laurie Evans (85 not out from 28 balls) had powered the Scorchers past 200, the Strikers showed the Scorchers attack to be far from invincible by racing to 153-3 before eventually falling away.
Laurie Evans has just played one of the GREAT T20 innings in Perth 🤩
— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) January 3, 2024
Runs: 85*
Balls: 28
Strike Rate: 303.57 😱pic.twitter.com/k35go24IcE
Perth’s big ground and huge square boundaries can make chasing anything above 10 runs per over hard work, for all the wicket itself is generally very good for batting, and Morris and co generally use those dimensions to their advantage by hitting back of a length hard, at good pace, and asking opposition batsmen to clear those long boundaries square of the wicket.
They’ll need to have re-think in Adelaide, a ground which is almost the opposite to Perth, with short boundaries square of the wicket which Matt Short and Chris Lynn peppered on New Year’s Eve, before the Stars did the same.
If the Scorchers continually go short on Friday, they could go the distance and when winning here last season, spin actually played a huge role with the ball for them. That’s not to say the defending champions won’t be able to bowl well and win, but I think the Strikers batting line-up will fancy their chances a little more now back on home turf.
The Strikers eventually finished on 169 on Wednesday, so they certainly held their own for large periods, and in the aforementioned Short and Lynn, they have the two leading runscorers in the competition this season. Lynn is a Big Bash legend, Short the man for now who has 275 runs at 55.00 so far this term.
The problem for the hosts is what happened on New Year’s Eve, and again in the reverse fixture on Wednesday. The Strikers bowling is poor and at the death, there for the taking.
The Scorchers only had 100 after 13 overs on Wednesday but managed another 111 in the next seven overs. As well as Evans played, and it was a masterful T20 innings, the bowling came up a long way short.
Frustratingly, Paddy Power and Betfair Sportsbook haven't priced up the both teams to score markets on their own this time, with Sky Bet awfully short at 6/4 about both teams to score 180+ runs. Betway make much more appeal at 4/1 about BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE 180+ RUNS, so we'll kick off the staking plan there.
Though I think Adelaide can have some success with the bat, I think their bowling will ultimately let them down. A Scorchers win is still very hard to oppose, so backing PERTH SCORCHERS TO WIN AND BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE 170+ RUNS at 7/2 (Paddy Power and Betfair Sportsbook) and PERTH SCORCHERS TO WIN AND BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE 180+ RUNS at 8/1 (Paddy Power and Betfair Sportsbook) makes sense.
Preview published at 1030 GMT on 04/01/24
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