It’s curtains for the loser of the Thunder v Stars clash in western Sydney while the winner will face the Sixers on Friday night for a place in the final.
Head to Head
The Stars are on a roll and they should be too good for the undermanned Thunder.
After starting 0-5, the perpetual battlers have sprung to life in the second half of the season, winning their last five games to storm into the finals. It’s been built on a magnificent run by Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis, who are both in the top five for run scorers in BBL 14, and Beau Webster, who has now left the tournament for national duty.
The Thunder have had a terrific year but their batting stocks have been smashed. They’ve lost Sam Konstas, also to national duty, for this game, on top of Cam Bancroft, Daniel Sams and Jason Sangha, who have all missed most of the season through injury. It leaves a lot of batting responsibility on David Warner’s shoulders, as he is the Thunder’s lone batter in the competition’s top 20 run scorers.
The numbers don’t give much of a guide here – the Stars holding a 11-10 record overall – but the visitors just possess a much deeper batting order and that should be enough to secure the victory.
Best Bet
The Stoin has had a very consistent series without going big often. The all-rounder has scored 20+ runs in nine of his last eleven BBL innings (with only one 50). He should be good for another start against this limited attack.
Value Bet
There is no reason to jump off the Maxi train coming off scores of 20*, 58*, 90 and 76*. Expect him to bowl a couple of overs which makes him a great bet for player of the match too.
Same Game Multi
Stars Win / Stoinis & Maxwell 20+ Runs / Warner 10+ Runs