CricketEddie OttoComment

BBL6 Game 29 Preview - Sydney Thunder v Adelaide Strikers @ Spotless Stadium

CricketEddie OttoComment
BBL6 Game 29 Preview - Sydney Thunder v Adelaide Strikers @ Spotless Stadium

Sydney Thunder (3-4) v Adelaide Strikers (2-5) @ Spotless Stadium 
 
Preview - All the chips are on the line for the Sydney Thunder in their regular season finale as the resurgent men in green host the Adelaide Strikers at Spotless Stadium. The Thunder are making a late surge for the finals, having won their past three games and requiring a win tonight to get them to 4-4 and into the final’s equation. While the Thunder have a negative differential, a win could well take their net run rate into the positives and into the finals if results fall their way over the final few regular season games. It's a different story for the Adelaide Strikers who became the first team officially eliminated from BBL6 with a narrow 6-run loss to the Renegades on Monday night. Adelaide’s batting has probably been the weakest in the competition this year, and once again it failed to deliver as they blew a good start in chase of the Renegades total of 171. 
 
Squad Changes - The Thunder are rolling right now and with momentum on their side have named an unchanged 13-player squad to take on the Strikers in this crucial final game. Overseas imports James Vince and Carlos Brathwaite have both got two games under their belt and have already made notable contributions and given the Thunder a completely different complexion for opponents to study. Strikers’ captain, Brad Hodge, has revealed he will play on in BBL7 despite being out of contract in Adelaide. Hodge has had another good season being the fifth leading run scorer in BBL6, with 247 runs at an average of 41 and a strike rate of 132. The Strikers have made just the one chance for their last game of the season with young wicket keeper batsman Alex Carey coming in for Kelvin Smith.
 
Sydney Thunder Scouting Report - While James Vince and Shane Watson have been winning the headlines of late, Kurtis Patterson is a player I am keeping my eye on. While Vince and Watson have proven International T20 pedigrees, Patterson is learning his craft at this game and starting to emerge as a threat for opponents. I'm a huge fan of Patterson as a cricketer, more so as a long form player. However class players find ways of adapting. While 124 runs at an average of 24 and strike rate of 127 is modest, Patterson is starting to find his groove, and I think he can make an impact in this game. Another player starting to show his class is Ben Rohrer in the Thunder’s middle order. Rohrer struggled, like his team, early in BBL6, however is starting to really hit his straps. Rohrer has scored 74 runs in his last three digs whilst only being dismissed once. Rohrer has always been a crafty white ball player with his ability to chip the ball into gaps and really work all areas of the ground, and his experience in the middle order is driving a Thunder batting line up that is hitting its straps at just the right time. 
 
While the Thunder have only found rhythm late in the campaign with their batting, their bowling has been both reliable and impactful. They have both experience and T20 quality in bucketloads, even without strike bowler Pat Cummins. The Thunder have three bowlers in captain Shane Watson and spin twins Fawad Ahmed and Chris Green that are going for less than 7 runs per over throughout BBL6, making them an awfully hard side to score 170+ against. This is allowing someone like Carlos Brathwaite to play the role of strike bowler. I have been really impressed by the energy and body language that Brathwaite has brought to the Thunder in the field. He is one of those bowlers who have a happy knack of getting wickets and while I don’t think he will be as miserly, he is giving the Thunder some really key breakthroughs.
 
Adelaide Strikers Scouting Report - The Strikers batting has not been up to scratch in BBL6 and that’s why they have not made the finals. Since their opening game 195 against the Heat, their only other notable effort was chasing down a moderate 161 against the Hurricanes. Apart from that, in their other five games they haven’t reached 170, which shows you why they were the first team eliminated from BBL6. One tactic I thought the Strikers belatedly got right was elevating Kieron Pollard in the batting order and giving him a licence from Ball 1. The big fella had been poking and prodding this BBL, and last game he looked good before he was unluckily caught by a stunning catch on the boundary to a shot that looked like a certain 6. 
 
Ben Laughlin has had a magnificent response since his bizarre dropping in Game 2. Laughlin has 11 wickets at a fantastic average of 13, and a remarkable economy rate of 5.8, making him perhaps the best overall bowler in BBL6. Without having a star billing line up on the paper, the Strikers’ attack have done a serviceable job in most games in BBL6. Ish Sohdi has given them a bit more presence and quality in the spin bowling department, while Kieron Pollard really finished their bowling innings well against the Renegades picking up 3 late wickets.
 
Verdict - You would have to say the Thunder deserve to be heavy favourites here being at home and having won their last three straight. Adelaide are down and out, so that has to be factored in as well. This is a game where one team has everything to play for, and one team has nothing to play. Which for me means it could go one of two ways. If the Strikers are not there mentally, they could easily be crushed here by a Thunder side that will be very switched on and are playing as good a cricket game as any side in the BBL right now. On the flip side of that, the Thunder will be under plenty of pressure which can make teams tighten up. The Strikers will have nothing to lose and will play this game in a very loose manner. Players will be very free and likely play very expansively with little worry for the consequences. This could make them dangerous, especially if they get away to a flyer. I like Kurtis Patterson to score runs in this game and I think the Thunder can win, which leaves their finals hopes up in the air heading into the final few regular season games. 

The Lurker - "Now I have not taken the Thunder all year however I am on the bandwagon tonight. The Strikers look like a dusty 4th grade side already on the circuit with finals out of reach. I like the high Bat/Bowler double for the Thunder of Ben Rohrer into Carlos Brathwaite. While for the Strikers have a lash at the High Bat/Bowler double of Brad Hodge Into Ish Sodhi"