BIG BASH: Our cricket tipster The Edge previews Monday’s Big Bash game between Brisbane Heat v Sydney Thunder with a recommended BETDAQ bet.


MATCH OVERVIEW:

The Big Bash moves back to the Gabba on Monday as Brisbane Heat take on Sydney Thunder. The Heat managed to get another win under their belts in a good chase against Sydney Sixers at the weekend. That was a much better win than when they beat Hobart Hurricanes with a mini-collapse in the middle order, and that might give them a bit of confidence. They moved off the bottom of the table for the time being anyway!

Sydney Thunder are on fire though, and it’s hard to see the Heat following that win up with another here. The Thunder were always reliant on their top three batting well but their lower order has more than chipped in with some runs and now the top three looks in excellent form.

The Thunder are in second position with a game in hand over their counterpart from Sydney. They’ve put four very impressive wins together in a row, and prior to that dominant run they beat the Heat by four wickets at the Manuka Oval. That day the Heat traded around 1.1 when they had Thunder 22/3 chasing 178/6 but their lower order pulled it out of the fire with a great chase. Hopefully we get another drama packed game today!


WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:

As I have been saying in this tournament, the wicket at the Gabba has been slowing down in recent years. 150 was a very competitive score for a first few games but the Heat were able to chase down 165/8 here at the weekend with seven balls to spare too. The batting here hasn’t been great, perhaps due to the conditions, but I would suggest that 150 looks a little light after the last game. Even though 165 was chased, I’d still be aiming for around that if batting first. Although I’d expect Thunder to go past that with their excellent batting.


RECOMMENDED BET:

I really like the Thunder here at 1.77 on BETDAQ Betting Exchange. At the moment they look like the best team in the tournament, with their batting on fire and their bowling going well too. At the start of the tournament, I would have said the Heat were the worst team, but that place seems to have gone to the Renegades at the moment! The Heat have huge gaps in their batting and bowling though, and they will have to perform way above their usual level to beat this Thunder side. I’d have them closer to 1.65 and with the top three in excellent form they look like a very good bet at the odds.

The Edge Says:
Three points win Sydney Thunder to beat Brisbane Heat at 1.77 on BETDAQ Betting Exchange

View the market here -> http://bit.ly/BDQHeaThu


IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:

Plenty of interesting angles here. We had a high scoring affair when the sides met previously in the tournament, with the Thunder chasing down 178. The Heat bowling lost that game however, as they took wickets with the new ball and threw away an excellent position with some poor bowling. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a big score from the Thunder here if conditions allowed. I feel conditions might hold back the scoring a little, but if the top three get going against this Heat bowling then we could easily have a 1.01 train.

If we had superb batting conditions, which is a little unlikely, I would be very keen to get on the Thunder chasing a big score again. I’d also be keen to get on them batting first against this Heat bowling. The Heat middle order has been very poor with the bat, and I’d be keen to get against them when the chance arises.


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