Perth Scorchers vs Melbourne Stars Preview & Prediction | BBL|14 | League Stage
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Marcus Stoinis’ first match as newly appointed Melbourne Stars captain is a daunting one as they travel to Perth Scorchers, winners in two of the last three BBLs.
Date & time: Sunday December 15th 2024: USA PT – 12:15am / USA ET – 3:15am / UK – 8:15am
Venue: Optus Stadium, Perth, Australia
Weather: Potential consistent drizzle across the scheduled time of play, but may not be heavy enough to force a halt to proceedings.
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 Perth Scorchers vs Melbourne Stars
Perth Scorchers Preview: Consistent contenders should challenge again
Perth Scorchers will once again be among the prime contenders to be the last time standing in the 14th edition of the Big Bash League. In each of the last four years, the Scorchers have not finished lower than third-place and with the pieces at their disposal, they are expected to once again make the play-offs.
International commitments will see them a little light batting-wise initially, although the front office have covered this adequately through the overseas market, bringing in the likes of Finn Allen along with Lancashire duo Keaton Jennings and Matty Hurst. But the bowling attack remains arguably the best across the entire tournament.
Read a full BBL 14 preview on Perth Scorchers here
Melbourne Stars Preview: Maxwell a big miss to start things off
Melbourne Stars, the consistent BBL underachievers have now failed to make the play-offs for the past four seasons running, a total failure when considering some of the big-name players they’ve had at their disposal. One of those has been Australia white ball star Glenn Maxwell, who won’t feature in this game due to a hamstring injury, a huge blow for the Stars.
Another key piece is Marcus Stoinis, who has been named the new Stars captain. Him and another all-rounder in Beau Webster will be important players not only here, but all season long. The visitors have also signed up 40-year-old bowler Peter Siddle to help fill out their attack and provide vital experience.
Read a full BBL 14 preview on Melbourne Stars here
Perth Scorchers Betting Analysis
A left-arm pace-bowler who offers a genuine point of difference with the ball, Jason Behrendorff is often the main wicket-taking threat for Perth Scorchers, whether that be in the powerplay with the field up, or at the death. He accumulated 16 wickets in 2023-24 and is well-suited to the pitches in Perth, so bettors should explore backing Behrendorff to finish this contest as the Scorchers’ top wicket-taker.
Melbourne Stars Betting Analysis
Mainly batting at number three, Beau Webster was excellent for Melbourne Stars last season, racking up 262 runs in total, the sixth most of any player. Assuming Webster once again turns out at three for the Stars this campaign, he’ll be looking to back that up with another strong showing this time around. Back him to underpin this Stars batting line-up in Perth with 20+ runs via the ‘Batter Milestones’ market.
Perth Scorchers vs Melbourne Stars Expert Prediction
Both teams are without crucial pieces of their respective line-ups, in Perth Scorchers’ case Mitchell Marsh and Aaron Hardie, not to mention Glenn Maxwell in the case of Melbourne Stars. But the Scorchers are superior from a depth perspective and boast a far stronger bowling attack on paper. With home advantage also in their favour, Perth are expected to get off to a winning start here in BBL 14.
Perth Scorchers vs Melbourne Stars Top Tip: Perth Scorchers to win
