BBL7 - Hurricanes v Heat Preview (Plus The Lurker's Pick and Bank)

Hobart Hurricanes (4-2) v Brisbane Heat (4-3) @ Blundstone Arena. 
 
Head to Head History - Hobart Hurricanes 7, Brisbane Heat 4
 
Last 5 - Hobart Hurricanes 3, Brisbane Heat 2
 
Brisbane Heat 13-Man Squad - Brendon McCullum (c), Ben Cutting, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Gannon, Sam Heazlett, Shadab Khan, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Lalor, Chris Lynn, Jimmy Peirson, Alex Ross, Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson
 
Hobart Hurricanes 13-Man Squad - George Bailey (c), Dan Christian, Cameron Boyce, Clive Rose, Ben McDermott, Jake Reed, Simon Milenko, Tymal Mills, Tom Rogers, D'Arcy Short, Jofra Archer, Matthew Wade, Nathan Reardon, Alex Doolan
 
Preview - It's a massive game for both sides when the Heat visit the Hurricanes tonight at Blundstone Arena. It was just six games ago when the Hurricanes upset the Heat by three runs in a game marred by controversy at The Gabba, with the Obstructing the Field call against Alex Ross causing friction between captains George Bailey and Brendon McCullum. With fourth spot up for grabs, both sides will see this as a must win affair. 
 
Big Batting Battle - Brendon McCullum v D'Arcy Short – I am sticking with the two pocket rockets that open the batting for their sides here in McCullum and Short. McCullum has threatened to explode through the BBL, however despite being the team’s leading run scorer, he only has 191 runs at an average of 27. D'Arcy Short is surely the Player of the Tournament in waiting, having hit an astounding 122 against the Heat last Tuesday, giving him 406 runs in BBL7 at an average of 81 and strike rate of 159. 
 
Big Bowling Battle - Mitchell Swepson v Cameron Boyce – Here we have a battle between two leg spinners in Cameron Boyce of the Hurricanes and Mitchell Swepson of the Heat. Boyce only has four wickets in six games this year, however he is going at less than 7 runs per over which is far better than in BBL6 when he went at over 8 runs per over. Swepson also only has 4 wickets, but is going for a respectable 7.23 run per over. 
 
Ground Dynamic - Blundstone is one of the best batting tracks in the BBL, and with two in-form batting units, I expect this to be a high scoring game. Generally there is a very short square boundary on one side, so expect the batsmen to try to target that boundary, whilst the bowlers try and bowl away from it in terms of the lines they hit. 
 
THE LURKERS PICK (15-13) - Brisbane Heat - "The Heat need a win here a fraction more the Hurricanes. I can't see them losing twice to the Canes so I'm backing them with confidence here" 
 

THE LURKERS'S 10-UNIT BANK (Running Tally = - 66 Units) 

(Tab odds) 

4 Units Brisbane Heat wo win by 1-20 runs or 1-4 wickets @ $5.50

3 Units Alex Ross to score 25+ into a Heat win @ $3.75

1.5 Units Heat high bat/bowler double of McCullum/Swepson @ $13.50

1.5 Units Hurricane high bat/bowler double of Wade/Archer @ $17.50