Defending Big Bash League champions Sydney Thunder will be looking to get their campaign back on track when they take on Brisbane Heat at the Spotless stadium in Sydney. They've had two consecutive losses so far.
The Sydney Thunder have had the worst possible start to their title defense after getting thrashed by a nine-wicket margin against the Sydney Sixers and then losing by a 48-run margin against the Melbourne Renegades in their second match. The Thunder currently sit at the bottom of the BBL table and are in desperate need of points.
Kurtis Patterson who opens the innings for the Thunder will have to put in a better performance this match after he got out on 8 and 0 in the first two matches. Ryan Gibson and Pat Cummins have been consistent with the bat so far for the Thunder and they will need to continue this form if they are to avoid a third straight defeat. While Andre Russell has been impressive with the ball picking up 3 wickets so far this tournament, his performances with the bat will have to improve with the Sydney Thunder struggling to put up a decent score.
The good news for the Sydney Thunder heading into this match is that their captain Shane Watson will be back after he missed the first two games owing to injury.
The Brisbane Heat will be looking to make it two wins out of two after they narrowly managed to edge past the Adelaide Strikers in their opening match of the tournament. The Heat will be really impressed with their batting performance from the first match as the opening pair of Jimmy Peirson and their captain Brendon McCullum scored 46 and 42 runs respectively. However, Alex Ross was the star performer in that match as he scored a superb 64 from 49 balls as he took the Heat across the 200-run mark.
Despite putting up a good innings with the bat, the Brisbane Heat will have to improve their bowling going into their match against the Sydney Thunder. Jason Floros was really expensive with the ball in the last match giving away 40 runs from 3 overs. Samuel Badree was better with the ball giving away only 22 runs from 4 overs but he will have to start taking wickets for the Heat. If Floros and Badree cannot deliver, then the Heat can turn to Steketee and Cutting for wickets as the duo managed to pick up 3 and 2 wickets in their win against the Adelaide Strikers.
Squads:
Sydney Thunder: Pat Cummins, Jake Doran, Fawad Ahmed, Ryan Gibson, Chris Hartley, Usman Khawaja, Alister McDermott, Clint McKay, Kurtis Patterson, Ben Rohrer, Gurinder Sandhu, Shane Watson (Captain), Aiden Blizzard, Chris Green, Nathan McAndrew, Eoin Morgan, Arjun Nair, Andre Russell, Kerrod White
Bribane Heat: Samuel Badree, Joe Burns, Ben Cutting, Alex Doolan, Andrew Fekete, Luke Feldman, Jason Floros, Josh Lalor, Chris Lynn, Brendon McCullum (Captain), Jimmy Peirson, Nathan Reardon, Alex Ross, Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson, Jack Wildermuth, Sam Heazlett, Marnus Labuschagne, Nick Buchanan
The Big Bash League 2016-17 match between the Sydney Sixers and Brisbane Heat is set to start at 19:10 local (08:10 GMT | 13:40 IST).
Where to watch
India: Star Sports 2/HD2. Live Streaming: Hotstar.com
Australia: TV: Network Ten. Live Streaming: Bigbash.com.au
United Kingdom: TV: Sky Sports 2/HD2. Live Streaming: Watch Sky Sports
USA and Canada: Willow TV
South Africa: Supersport
