Brisbane Heat vs Melbourne Stars, Brisbane Heat Predicted XI, Big Bash League (BBL) 2020-21
Updated - 06 Jan 2021, 06:21 PM
In the 32nd match of the Big Bash League (BBL) 2020-21, Brisbane Heat will face Melbourne Stars at Carrara Oval on January 7 (Thursday). The two teams will be facing each other for the second time this season. In the first meeting, Heat was badly beaten by six wickets.
But Brisbane Heat is coming off a victory against Strong Sydney Thunder by 10 runs. They have regained the confidence which was lost because of the previous defeats by few margins.
Here, let’s take a look at how Brisbane Heat’s playing XI might shape in:
Max Bryant:
Against Hobart Hurricanes, Max Bryant played a gun-blazing knock of 32 runs off 21 balls, scoring three four and one six. But he didn’t get the support from the other end as he also lost his wicket soon because of pressure. Similarly, against Syndey Sixers, Bryant registered his highest score of this season, i.e, 40 runs which helped Brisbane Heat to have the upper hand.
But in the last outing, he could not give a good base while chasing. He was out for 15 runs off 11 balls.
Bryant is looking in good form and will want to stitch up a good partnership with his opening partner.
Joe Burns:
Joe Burns has returned to the Brisbane Heat after the Australia team released him from the ongoing Test series. He was an injury replacement in the Heat’s inaugural year and has played at least one BBL game in each of the ensuring 10 seasons.
After being out for one run in his first match, Burns registered the maiden half-century against Sydney Thunder which powered Heat toward the win. He will look to play such more knock to gain confidence which he had lost during the Test series.
Joe Denly:
Against Sydney Thunder, he stitched a match-winning partnership with Joe Burns and in process, registered maiden half-century of the season.
He is coming off a decent domestic tournament of England and will look to produce an impactful performance in the middle which Tim Copper has not been able to give. Apart from batting, he is also a useful bowling option.
Chris Lynn:
Jimmy Peirson (wk):
Jimmy Peirson, who was leading the team in absence of Chris Lynn, almost pull off Brisbane Heat to victory against Adelaide Strikers. While chasing 151 runs target, he scored unbeaten 69 runs in 36 balls, striking seven fours and two giant sixes. He played a gun-blazing knock but will be disappointed that he could not take the game home as they lost the match by just two runs.
But finally, against Hobart Hurricanes, he stitched up a crucial partnership with James Bazley to seal the deal for Heat.
Lewis Gregory:
The all-rounder Lewis Gregory played the first match of the BBL against Hobart Hurricanes, which was the first meeting of Brisbane Heat with them. He picked up the early wickets of D’Arcy Short, Peter Handscomb and David Malan to halt them from setting a big target.
Against Sydney Sixers, Gregory yielded an impressive batting performance, scoring 31 runs off 16 balls in which he struck two fours and two sixes. With his impressive performance with the ball and bat, he proved that he should have been chance in the playing XI of Brisbane Heat from the very start.
James Bazley:
Bazley made his debut for Brisbane Heat against Hobart Hurricanes. He stitched a match-winning partnership with the captain Jimmy Peirson to take the game home after the collapse of the middle-order. The all-rounder scored unbeaten 31 runs, striking two fours and three sixes.
In the second meeting with Hobart Hurricanes as well, he almost took the game. The heat needed two runs from one last ball and Steketee ran to grab a quick run to take the game super over. Although he reached the crease his bat was in the air and thus, was given out. And unfortunately, Bazley’s hard work went into vain but he remained not out for 49 runs.
Jack Wildermuth:
The fast bowling allrounder Jack Wildermuth played his first match for Brisbane Heat against Sydney Thunders. He went on to play a rocket fueling knock though stayed for a shorter period in the field. Jack faced only 11 balls but struck four sixes and went on to score 31 runs.
Apart from batting, he was also economical and picked three wickets while gave away only 23 runs in his four overs quota. Against Hurricanes, he didn’t bat longer but was amazing with the ball. The franchise will want him to continue giving them success.
Mark Steketee:
The right-arm pacer Mark Steketee, the 26-year-old pacer, has got the knack of picking wickets but he needs to learn the art of control the run rate.
Like previous matches, he was not economical but gave the breakthroughs in the last match against Sydney Thunder. Mark took the wicket of Ben Cutting and Oliver Davies.
Xavier Barlett:
Bartlett has given breakthroughs in crucial situations. He ticked all the boxes right to dismantle Adelaide Strikers batting attack. The pacer picked three wickets while gave away 24 runs in his four overs quota to halt them for 150 runs. This was the only second match for him in this season.
Against Hobart Hurricanes, he sent back D’Arcy Short for a duck while got the wicket of Tim David, who was looking to play a big knock. In the last match, after picking the wicket of Usman Khwaja, he went expensive in his three overs. The speedster will bounce back stronger against Melbourne Stars.
Mujeeb ur Rahman:
Mujeeb ur Rahman registers his maiden five-wicket haul in BBL against Hobart Hurricanes in the second meeting but disappointingly, it could not end up in the winning cause. His majestic spell halted them to 150 but Brisbane Heat’s batsmen could not chase the target.
Against Sydney Sixers, he notched the crucial wicket of Jack Edwards and Daniel Christain to seal the deal. He also ran through Sydney Thunder’s batting line up, picking two pivotal wickets in his four overs.
