Published: 16th Dec,2020 11:27AM
On head-to-head count, the teams are locked at 8-8.
Melbourne Stars have gotten off to a flying start, winning their first two matches in the 2020-21 edition of the Big Bash League. Moreover, with a net run rate of 1.218, Glenn Maxwell and Co have simply been unstoppable.
The Stars will next be up against the Perth Scorchers on Wednesday, December 16 at the Aurora Stadium in Launceston and they would be keen to make it three out of three. The Scorchers, on the other hand, didn’t make the greatest of starts in the league. Melbourne Renegades thrashed them by seven wickets on Saturday.
Mitchell Marsh’s men lost wickets upfront and fell behind the 8-ball, and couldn’t recover. On head-to-head count, the Scorchers are locked in at 8-8 with the Stars. But against an in-form Stars’ unit, the Scorchers need to put forth their A-game.
Pitch and Conditions
The pitch in Launceston has been a fairly good one for batting. But the fast bowlers are most likely to get some assistance from the surface. Once a batter gets set, he needs to carry on and score big.
Both teams have some strong batsmen in their ranks and might want to bat second. There are chances of a downpour around 7 PM and hence, there could be a delay before the start of the game.
Average Score
155 (5 unaffected BBL matches)
Record of the chasing teams
Won – 3; Lost – 2
Playing Combinations for SCO vs STA
Perth Scorchers
Josh Inglis (WK), Colin Munro, Joe Clarke, Mitchell Marsh, Ashton Turner (C), Cameron Bancroft, Aaron Hardie, Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff, Fawad Ahmed
Bench– Joel Paris, Corey Rocchiccioli, Sam Whiteman, Kurtis Patterson
Melbourne Stars
Marcus Stoinis, Andre Fletcher, Glenn Maxwell (C), Hilton Cartwright, Ben Dunk (WK), Nick Larkin/Nic Maddinson, Clint Hinchcliffe, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Adam Zampa, Liam Hatcher, Billy Stanlake,
Bench– Lance Morris, Seb Gotch, Tom O’Connell, Dilbar Hussain, Nic Maddinson
Probable Top Performers for SCO vs STA
Mitchell Marsh– Perth Scorchers
Mitchell Marsh has been a stalwart for the Scorchers for many years. He has delivered for them with both bat and ball. Having scored 1969 T20 runs and picking up 49 wickets, there’s very little doubt about the prowess he has.
In the last game, he was looking good, scoring 17 runs with two fours, but then leg-spinner Peter Hatzglou nipped him out. Marsh would desperately be wanting to make amends.
Glenn Maxwell– Melbourne Stars
Glenn Maxwell has gotten off to a fantastic start in the ongoing tournament. In the first two games, he got scores of 46 and 39 and played at a strike-rate of 154.54.
After showing his class in the ODIs and T20Is against India, the Victorian has been able to carry forward his good form in the tournament. Maxwell has also been economical with the ball, though he is yet to pick a wicket.
Broadcast Details
Match timings – 07:15 PM local time, 01:45 PM IST
TV – Sony Ten Network
Live Streaming – Sony LIV