Cricket betting tips: Weekend Big Bash preview and best bets

sportinglife.com

05 January 2024

Cricket betting tips: Weekend Big Bash preview and best bets

Cricket betting tips: Big Bash

1pt Tom Curran top Sydney Sixers batsman at 14/1 (General)

1pt Both Teams To Score 180+ Runs in Brisbane Heat versus Hobart Hurricanes at 7/2 (Sky Bet)

1pt Nathan McSweeney to make a fifty at 4/1 (Betway)

Melbourne Stars v Sydney Sixers

Saturday
8:15, UK time
Melbourne

Melbourne Stars will be hopeful of keeping their good run going when hosting Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash on Saturday morning, 8.30 UK time.

The Stars have won their last four now, most recently when Glenn Maxwell led them to victory in the Melbourne Derby earlier this week, and Scott Boland’s return will be a further boost to them against the Sixers.

The Stars have packed their batting of late, especially since Haris Rauf and Usama Mir left for international duty, but Boland is a class act whose new ball skills will provide some priceless quality up front, and potentially put the Sixers on the back foot.

The Sixers top order hasn’t fired consistently so far this season, for all we have seen flashes of brilliance from James Vince and Josh Philippe, and if Boland gets to work early, that could hand the advantage to the home side.

I’m not mad keen to take a particularly strong view on the match market. A resurgent Stars with their rampant batting unit have to be respected at home, but it’s been good practice over the years to never write off the Sixers, and I can understand why the market is struggling to make up its mind on this one.

The side markets are much more appealing, and in the hope the new ball might do some early damage, I like the Sixers middle order for top batsman honours.

The obvious starting point is Jordan Silk, a rock in the Sixers middle order who won this market with a fine 66 not out against Adelaide Strikers earlier in the campaign. Batting at number five, he is sure to prove a popular choice, for all I can’t warrant backing him at 7/1.

At the prices, I prefer TOM CURRAN, likely to bat at number six and the sort of big hitter who can make hay in the Power Surge and catch up late in the innings.

Curran is a much-improved cricketer, particularly with the bat. He top scored for Oval Invincibles in the final of The Hundred in the summer when blasting 67* from only 34 balls. In fact, Curran batted well on a number of occasions in that competition in the middle order, showcasing the vast improvements he has made in his batting.

Having served a four-match ban earlier in the competition, the Englishman hasn’t had much chance to flex his muscles so far this season, but we know what he is capable of and 14/1 looks fair.

The strong form shown by the Stars batting line-up of late makes their top batsman market harder to take a strong view on, and the bowler markets make similarly little appeal.

Brisbane Heat v Hobart Hurricanes

Sunday
8:15, UK time
Brisbane

In Sunday's match in the Big Bash, Brisbane Heat take on Hobart Hurricanes at home, and they will start as warm favourites to maintain their unbeaten record and consolidate their position at the top of the league table.

The closest the Heat have come to losing this season came last time when only edging out Sydney Sixers in a rain-affected match, Paul Walter producing a match-winning late hand with the bat to ensure an excellent performance with the ball wasn't wasted.

The Heat look a fine side ticking every box, though the Hurricanes are a dangerous outfit in their own right whose batting has started to click of late. The top-order struggles from earlier in the season look to have been banished and two wins on the bounce have followed.

Runs for Ben McDermott in both of those victories should prove significant for the remainder of the campaign, and with Sam Hain and Corey Anderson finally coming good in the recent win over Melbourne Renegades, there are more reasons to be positive.

In fact, both teams should enjoy the Gabba, which has generally been a good place to bat in this competition over the years, and the Heat kicked off with 214-3 here against Melbourne Stars back in early December. They really should have made much more than the 172 they subsequently managed against Sydney Thunder, too.

All in all, I like betting runs on this ground in T20 cricket, and there is enough quality, and crucially, form in both ranks to suggest we could see a high-scoring match, if not quite to the extent we saw in Adelaide on New Year’s Eve.

Sky Bet go 7/2 about BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE 180+ RUNS, and I’m happy to play at those odds.

I’ve been banging the Nathan McSweeney drum for a while a now, and the scatterings of 4/1 still on offer in the top Heat batsman market do make some appeal.

However, this market might need a significant contribution to win it, should big runs indeed be the order of the day, and backing MCSWEENEY TO MAKE A FIFTY at the same price (Betway) might be the better play.

In fact, anything north of 3/1 looks a bet, meaning we don’t have to worry about a pretty strong field that includes Colin Munro, Matt Renshaw and Sam Billings. McSweeney’s top score of the season so far came when he struck a classy 73 on this ground against the Thunder.

I’ve made no secret of the fact I think McSweeney will end up playing for Australia, and his Sheffield Shield form this summer confirms he is certainly going the right way.

A classical style of player who looks to hold the Heat innings together while others take more risks, McSweeney might not produce the fireworks that some do, but slow and steady often wins the race, even in this format, and he can do the job for half-century backers on Sunday.