Australian T20 League 2022 

Match 13- HEA vs STR 

Preview 

Heat and Strikers are set to face each other in match number 13 of Aus T20 League 2022 at the iconic Gabba, Brisbane on Friday, December 23. The two teams have had contrasting fortunes at the tournament thus far. While Heat are yet to open their account, Strikers have won 3 out of 3 games and have consolidated their position at the top of the league standings.    

Heat, despite dominating the majority of their last game against the Gades’ suffered a 4 wicket loss. Batting first the men in blue somehow mustered 137 runs on the board thanks to their skipper Jimmy Pierson, who played a lone hand of 44 to give his bowlers a chance to defend. The bowlers almost pulled off a miraculous heist against a potent batting prowess but failed to hold their nerves at crunch situations. Micheal Neser led the bowling charge for the visitors as he ended the game with impressive match figures of 4/32. The 32 year old also became only the eighth bowler to pick up a hat-trick in the history of the T20 tournament. It was however overshadowed by Russel’s rampaging, who helped Renegades get over the line. Heat will have to make this game count and try to revitalise their faltering campaign. Colin Murno and Max Bryant have failed big time at the top of the order. They ought to step up and come up with better performances on Friday. 

Everything the Strikes have touched this season has turned into gold. With 3 wins in as many games, the Adelaide based franchise has emerged as one of the strongest teams in the competition. They have done exceptionally well in all three fronts of the game and are deservingly at the top of the order. Their batting lineup is studded with quality hitters such as Matthew Short, Chris Lynn and Adam Hose. Jake Weatherald is finding it difficult at the top of the order but it's just a matter of time. We are well aware of the southpaw’s heroics with bat in hand. Once he regains form, Strikes will possess one of the fiercest batting attacks in the competition. In the bowling department, they have the likes of Henry Thornton and Rashid Khan. The latter was expected to excel due to his sheer intelligence and reputation in world cricket, but Thornton, who prior to this season hadn’t done much, has been a surprise element. He is currently the leading wicket taker in the tournament with 11 wickets to his name. As we head into match number 13, let us have a look at how these two teams will fare out in the clash. 

Match Details

Match: HEA vs STR, 13th Match, Aus T20 League 2022-23

Date: Friday, December 23, 2022

Time: 1:30 PM

Venue: The Gabba, Brisbane

Pitch and Weather Report

Pacers often love to roll their arms on this wicket as the track offers them consistent bounce and carry, more so in the initial phase. For this exact reason, the batters like this surface too because they can trust the bounce and play their shots. 

The weather forecast for The Gabba in Brisbane for the coming week predicts an average daily maximum temperature of roughly 29°C, with a high for the week of 31°C predicted on Friday 23rd morning. The average minimum temperature will be 19°C, with the low being 19°C on Thursday 22nd morning.

Form Guide

HEA: LLLLL

STR: WWWWW 

Head to Head

Team                  Matches Won 

(i) HEA                       7 

(ii) STR                      9

Squads

HEA: Xavier Bartlett, James Bazley, Sam Billings, Max Bryant, Sam Hain, Sam Heazlett, Usman Khawaja, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Colin Munro, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson, Ross Whiteley, Jack Wildermuth, Spencer Johnson, Will Prestwidge 

STR: Wes Agar, Cameron Boyce, Alex Carey, Harry Conway, Colin de Grandhomme, Ryan Gibson, Travis Head, Adam Hose, Henry Hunt, Thomas Kelly, Rashid Khan, Chris Lynn, Harry Nielsen, Matt Short, Jake Weatherald, Henry Thorton, Peter Siddle, Ben Manenti

Probable Playing XIs

HEA: Max Bryant, Colin Munro, Matt Renshaw, Sam Billings, Jimmy Peirson (c & wk), Ross Whiteley, Michael Neser, James Bazley, Mark Steketee, Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitchell Swepson

STR: Jake Weatherald , Matthew Short, Chris Lynn, Adam Hose, Colin de Grandhomme, Thomas Kelly, Harry Nielsen (wk), Rashid Khan, Wes Agar, Henry Thornton, Peter Siddle (c)

Hot Fantasy Picks

Wicket Keeper

Jimmy Pierson: The Heat skipper is in good hitting form at the moment. He is the only batter in the lineup who has looked comfortable in the middle. The wicket keeper batter is coming on the back of a fine 44 in the last game against the Gades. 

Batsmen

Chris Lynn: All eyes will be on Lynn when he takes the field against his former franchise on Friday. The explosive top order batter has looked good in patches this season. 

Colin Munro: The NZ superstar has failed to create any impact for his side this season. He will however enjoy batting on this Gabba surface. We fancy him to do well in this game.

All Rounders

Matthew Short: With 158 runs in 3 innings, the batting all rounder has started the tournament with a bang. He has been a Striker's impact player this season, and we expect him to continue his merry ways on Friday. 

Bowlers

Rashid Khan: The spin wizard from Afghanistan has been Strikers most valuable player across seasons. This year has been nothing different for the skilful leg spinner. With 4 wickets in 3 games, he is certainly someone to keep a keen eye on.

Henry Thornton: The Australian pacer has taken the 12th edition of Australian T20 League by storm. He has already picked 11 wickets in just three matches at a staggering average of 3.73. 

Match Prediction

While the Heat should not be written out due to home advantage, it's difficult to back them against the Strikers based on their current form. Jason Gillespie has put together a real machine of a team, sprinkled with world-class bowlers like Rashid Khan, essential depth and power hitting in the top order batting unit. In contrast, the Heat have struggled to score runs, and Rashid, to mention just one bowler, is capable of tying them up here. Back Adelaide Strikers to maintain their perfect record.  

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