BBL 2018-19, Match 42, Melbourne Stars vs Brisbane Heat, Match Prediction – Weather Report, Pitch Conditions, Playing XIs and Live Streaming Details

Can the Stars make it a hat-trick of wins?

Published - 26 Jan 2019, 13:32 IST | Updated - 26 Jan 2019, 13:32 IST

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Just a day after the Brisbane Heat Women have emerged the champions of WBBL 2018-19, the men’s team will be back in the action. The Big Bash League (BBL) hasn’t witnessed any action over the last two days and promises to entertain the fans over the weekend. It will be the Melbourne Stars with whom the Heat will compete.

In the last two games, the Stars defeated the Renegades and the Strikers and will be eyeing at a hat-trick of wins. The team is placed fifth on the points table at the moment and will clearly want to climb to the third spot with a good win here. The Brisbane Heat are also desperate for a victory. The team only managed to end up on the winning side on three occasions out of nine.

Pitch and Conditions

The Melbourne Cricket Ground isn’t a place where the batsmen can score freely. They’ll need to work hard for the runs and play some intelligent cricket. The weather is cloudy during the match. But, there isn’t any prediction of rain and there will be good winds blowing around.

Team Combinations

Melbourne Stars

Melbourne Stars have named one replacement to their squad from the last game. Dan Worrall, who missed the initial part of the tournament due to an injury that he sustained in the Sheffield Shield tournament, is back in the mix. He replaced Lance Morris in the squad who was picked as an interim player instead of him. Worrall could be drafted into the playing eleven straight away. The pacer is highly likely to replace Tom O’Connell in the team.

Predicted XI: Ben Dunk, Marcus Stoinis, Peter Handcomb (wk), Glenn Maxwell (c), Nic Maddinson, DJ Bravo, Evan Gulbis, Liam Plunkett, Adam Zampa, Jackson Bird, Dan Worrall.

Brisbane Heat

The Brisbane Heat could field pretty much the same eleven from their last game where they were thumped by the Sydney Sixers by 79 runs. Brendon McCullum and Chris Lynn need to shoulder the additional responsibility with the willow as they are the crux of the batting order. Josh Lalor and Mujeeb Ur Rahman bowled beautifully in the last match. But, the other bowlers failed to complement them well. This is one area where the team needs to work on.

Predicted XI: Max Bryant, Brendon McCullum, Chris Lynn (c), Jimmy Peirson (wk), Alex Ross/Matt Renshaw, Ben Cutting, Jack Prestwidge, Josh Lalor, Brendan Doggett, Mitchell Swepson, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.