Both Perth and Brisbane are struggling in the BBL, placed seventh and eighth in the points table, respectively. While Perth have managed a win from five outings, Brisbane have been unable to register points against their name through three matches. The Scorchers will be boosted by the return of Mitchell Marsh, who has been released by the Australian Test team and is available to play the BBL, but the rest of the unit has looked inconsistent and non-threatening. The batting has looked out of place throughout - they were dismissed for just 103 runs in their first game against Melbourne Renegades and managed to score only 107 for 8 against the Hobart Hurricanes. Perth's bowling looks more organized, and players like Jhye Richardson will hold the key once again. Spinner Usman Qadir and Sam Whiteman have been dropped from the 13-member squad, with Marsh and Matt Kelly taking their place.
The Brisbane Heat on the other hand have been unable to find form despite the presence of players like Chris Lynn and Brendon McCullum in their ranks. James Pattinson and Mujeeb Ur Rahman have been among the wickets, but the failure of the squad to play well together has led to their downfall. Matt Renshaw has been included in the 13-member squad and in all possibility he will suit up against the Scorchers on Saturday.
Player Recommendations:
Wicket-keeper: Jimmy Peirson (8.5 credits)
The Heat's keeper has scored only 51 runs in thre games thus far, but seems a better bet
Both Perth and Brisbane are struggling in the BBL, placed seventh and eighth in the points table, respectively. While Perth have managed a win from five outings, Brisbane have been unable to register points against their name through three matches. The Scorchers will be boosted by the return of Mitchell Marsh, who has been released by the Australian Test team and is available to play the BBL, but the rest of the unit has looked inconsistent and non-threatening. The batting has looked out of place throughout - they were dismissed for just 103 runs in their first game against Melbourne Renegades and managed to score only 107 for 8 against the Hobart Hurricanes. Perth's bowling looks more organized, and players like Jhye Richardson will hold the key once again. Spinner Usman Qadir and Sam Whiteman have been dropped from the 13-member squad, with Marsh and Matt Kelly taking their place.
The Brisbane Heat on the other hand have been unable to find form despite the presence of players like Chris Lynn and Brendon McCullum in their ranks. James Pattinson and Mujeeb Ur Rahman have been among the wickets, but the failure of the squad to play well together has led to their downfall. Matt Renshaw has been included in the 13-member squad and in all possibility he will suit up against the Scorchers on Saturday.
Player Recommendations:
Wicket-keeper: Jimmy Peirson (8.5 credits)
The Heat's keeper has scored only 51 runs in thre games thus far, but seems a better bet than Cameron Bancroft, who is returning to the competitive fold after serving a nine-month ban. Though Peirson has not been among the runs, he has scored at a strike-rate of 145.71, as against Bancroft's strike-rate of 80.76. With the latter looking rusty, it is safer to go in with the player from Heat.
Batsman: Chris Lynn (11 credits)
Lynn has been the only consistent batsman from the Brisbane Heat. In three innings, the Aussie international star has scored 146 runs with a high score of 84 that came in 55 balls in the side's previous game. Averaging 48.66 with the bat in the tournament and scoring his runs at a strike-rate of 130.35, Lynn has been on fire, but with no other player in the side scoring more than 100 runs, his efforts have gone in vain. However, he has the potential to change the game on his day, and the skipper will be eager to lead from the front.
All-rounder: Ben Cutting (9.5 credits)
The all-rounder has truckloads of experience, having played 116 T20 games across various leagues all around the world. He is not only a dangerous hitter of the ball in the far end of the innings, but can also chip in with some crucial wickets in the middle overs. So far, Cutting has scored only 66 runs, which also includes a 58 against the Hobart Hurricanes, but his runs have come at a strike-rate of 146.66, which shows his ability to send the ball sailing. The player has chipped in with the ball as well, picking up two wickets.
Bowler: Jhye Richardson (8.5 credits)
The Scorchers have been faring considerably well in the bowling front, with Richardson, Jason Behrendorff, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Andrew Tye all among the wickets. However, I have picked up Richardson as he is in good bowling form and has been troubling the rivals with his pace and variations. His economy rate of 4.86 shows his ability to stall the flow of runs, and he will be high on confidence after having returned with figures of 3 for 7 from three overs the last time he played at the Optus Stadium.
Captain: Chris Lynn
Vice-captain: Jhye Richardson
