Melbourne Stars vs Brisbane Heat Preview & Prediction | BBL|14 | League Stage
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It doesn’t get any easier for Melbourne Stars after losing their first game with defending champions Brisbane Heat up next at the MCG.
Date & time: Wednesday December 18th 2024: USA PT – 12:15am / USA ET – 3:15am / UK – 8:15am
Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia
Weather: Sunshine descending into clear skies later on as temperatures dip towards 19c.
How to watch: USA – Willow TV / UK – Sky Sports & Sky Go / Australia – Seven Network, Foxtel & Kayo Sports
How to get tickets for WBBL|10: Click here for the latest ticket information for Melbourne Stars vs Brisbane Heat
Melbourne Stars Preview: Cartwright injury scare dominates headlines
Melbourne Stars’ first BBL14 match away at Perth Scorchers was overshadowed by a neck injury suffered by Hilton Cartwright fielding on the boundary. Cartwright was stretchered off in a neck brace but has thankfully since been cleared of injury after spending time in hospital. He will now re-join the Stars camp with a decision on his availability due prior to this next game.
In terms of the match itself in Perth, the Stars were behind the eight-ball early on after being reduced to just 2/3 batting first. Whilst Marcus Stoinis’ side managed to get themselves up to 146/9 in the end, that was never going to be enough against a team of Perth Scorchers’ quality and in the end, the Stars were beaten by six wickets with 2.5 overs to spare.
Brisbane Heat Preview: Bowlers retained but change in batting
Bowling was the foundation to Brisbane Heat’s success last season, which saw them win only the second BBL title in their history. Xavier Bartlett and Spencer Johnson were both brilliant, the two pace bowlers finishing on 20 and 19 wickets respectively, whilst overseas all-rounder Paul Walter managed 17 wickets in his maidan BBL campaign.
However, the batting line-up will look different compared to 2023-24 following Josh Brown’s departure to Melbourne Renegades and wicket-keeper Sam Billings to Sydney Thunder. The Heat will also be without regular captain Usman Khawaja and fellow batter Nathan McSweeney initially with both currently representing Australia against India.
Melbourne Stars Betting Analysis
As newly appointed captain, Marcus Stoinis was always going to be key for Melbourne Stars whether it be with bat, ball or in the field. Whilst Stoinis didn’t bowl against Perth, the Australian white ball international plundered 37 runs, including three 4s and a 6s, joint top-scoring alongside Tom Curran. Stoinis has clearly established himself as a key piece in a Stars batting line-up that needs as much power-hitting as it can get. Therefore, the Stars skipper striking over 0.5 match sixes for the second game running is well worth backing.
Brisbane Heat Betting Analysis
When taking into account the number of players missing for Brisbane on the batting front, lots of pressure falls on the shoulders of top order batter Matt Renshaw. He struck 175 runs in ten innings across last season’s competition, which was the fourth highest among Brisbane Heat players. With Brown having departed, Renshaw will likely need to step up his run accumulation for Brisbane to be successful this campaign, but a man of his character should relish the opportunity. Consider backing Renshaw to finish this contest as the Heat’s top batter.
Melbourne Stars vs Brisbane Heat Expert Prediction
It would be a surprise if this turns out to be a high-scoring affair when considering that both teams are fairly light when it comes to batting right now. Melbourne Stars are without Ben Duckett and may well be missing Glenn Maxwell once again, whilst Brisbane Heat’s top run-scorer last season has departed and two key top order batters are away with Australia. With that in mind, this encounter will likely be decided by the bowlers and this is where Brisbane may well take control. They boast one of the best attacks in the competition and even if Johnson doesn’t recover from a toe injury in time to feature, they should still have enough in the tank to overcome the Stars.
Melbourne Stars vs Brisbane Heat Top Tip: Brisbane Heat to win
