GameDay Squad AUS Cricket Round 23 Preview: The Adelaide Strikers take on the Perth Scorchers in the 27th match of BBL13 in Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval on Friday the 5th of January.
Here's everything you need to know ....
Predicted Teams
Adelaide Strikers: 1. Matt Short, 2. D'Arcy Short, 3. Chris Lynn, 4. Adam Hose, 5. Thomas Kelly, 6. Jamie Overton, 7. Harry Nielsen, 8. Wes Agar, 9. Henry Thornton, 10. David Payne, 11. Cameron Boyce
Perth Scorchers: 1. Zak Crawley, 2. Sam Whiteman, 3. Aaron Hardie, 4. Josh Inglis, 5. Laurie Evans, 6. Cooper Connolly, 7. Ashton Agar, 8. Jhye Richardson, 9. Andrew Tye, 10. Lance Morris, 11. Jason Behrendorff
Start Vs Sit
Batters - Adam Hose vs Laurie Evans
Except for his first match of the season against the Thunder, Hose hasn't really been that fantasy relevant. He has only twice been one of the three top scoring batsmen in a match. Evans has played four matches but only been required to bat twice and on both occasions the Scorchers were batting first. I have Evans ranked ahead of Hose as he has shown better form when given the opportunity. However, as Evans hasn't been required to bat when the Scorchers bat second, I'll only be starting him if the Scorchers bat first.
Start: Whoever bats in the first innings out of Hose and Evans
All-Rounder - D'Arcy Short vs Ashton Agar
If the Strikers do decide to leave Bazley out of their starting XI, the decision on who to start as the fourth all-rounder has to be between Short and Agar in my opinion. I'll be starting Short nine times out of ten in this spot and I will be for this match up. Short opens the batting and can bowl. Agar has played three matches and only taken one wicket. Short is still one of the most sought after cards in GDS. If you don't already have him, I would look at acquiring him as soon as possible.
Start: D'Arcy Short
Bowler - Henry Thornton vs Jason Behrendorff
In the predicted teams we have five of the top thirteen bowlers for AUS Cricket. Here are these players averages, Morris - 71 points, Behrendorff - 65 points, Thornton - 61 points, Tye - 49 points and Richardson - 40 points. I have Morris and Richardson as my top two bowlers with Behrendorff, Thornton and Tye battling it out for the third starting position. I'm leaning towards starting Thornton as he was the pick of the Strikers bowlers against the Scorchers a couple of days ago. He scored 61 points and took two wickets. Behrendorff tends to bowl better than Tye does away from Perth. However, I'm likely going to wait and see which team is bowling first before making my decision. In the first innings at the Adelaide Oval, pace bowlers average twelve more points than they do in the second innings.
Start: Whoever bowls in the first innings out of Thornton and Behrendorff
Matchup Matrix
Key Takeaways:
Middle and lower order batsmen score well against the Strikers
Pace and spin bowlers haven't scored well against the Scorchers
Middle and lower order batsmen struggle to score against the Scorchers
Ground Matrix
Key Takeaways:
Opening and middle order batsmen score well here
Pace bowlers struggle to score, especially in the second innings
Avoid lower order batsmen
Hot Take
Richardson will be the best bowler in the match and take 3+ wickets.
Who to play in your GDS starting XI
BAT - Chris Lynn
BAT - Zak Crawley
BAT - Adam Hose / Laurie Evans (toss dependent)
ALL - Matt Short
ALL - Aaron Hardie
ALL - Jamie Overton
ALL - D'Arcy Short
WK - Josh Inglis
BWL - Lance Morris
BWL - Jhye Richardson
BWL - Henry Thornton / Jason Behrendorff (toss dependent)