BBL 7, Match 15, Preview: Bottom placed Melbourne Stars face wounded Heat

The semi-finalists of the last season Melbourne Stars have started this season with two consecutive losses and now find themselves right at the bottom of the points table. They will be desperate for a victory as they go head to head against the mighty Brisbane Heat in Match 15 of the 7th edition of the Big Bash League (BBL).

Kevin Pietersen, who had missed the last game for the Stars as he had travelled back to the UK to spend the Christmas with his family, is back again and is available for selection. It’s a no-brainer that he will be drafted straight back into the XI and his inclusion will definitely strengthen the Stars batting. With Pietersen’s return, the veteran left-hander Rob Quiney will have to make way.

Melbourne Stars don’t appear to be as strong with the ball as they do with the bat. They simply lack sting in their bowling. Scott Boland is one quality bowler, but other than that, there is no real pace in the attack and Boland too is not one of the quickest going around. Medium pace bowling in T20 cricket on flat pitches can continue the journey more often than not. So that’s an area of concern for the Stars.

Brisbane Heat, on the other hand, have had a mixed bag in the tournament. With a couple of wins under their belt in four games, they are not in an alarming situation, but they suffered a big loss in the last game and will want a good recovery.

The Heat need the “Bash Brothers” to be at the top of their games which has not been the case so far. While Brendon McCullum’s bat has been silent after the first game, Chris Lynn has failed to make the same sort of impact as the last season having scored only 25 runs in the two games he has played. If these two bat together for any length of time and get going, things will be out of the control of the Stars pretty quickly.

Talking about Heat’s bowling, they have found an ideal replacement for Shadab Khan in the form of his compatriot Yasir Shah who came into the team and proved his worth straight away. In his debut game against the Strikers where he gave away only 18 runs in his spell of 4 overs and chipped away with 2 crucial wickets. The Heat will be expecting another similar sort of spell from the wily leg-spinner.

The pitches at MCG traditionally happen to be quick and bouncy, but in the recent times, they have been relatively slower and haven’t provided too much of carry to the fast bowlers. It will be interesting to see what kind of surface they dish out tomorrow night.

Predicted XI

Melbourne Stars: Ben Dunk, Luke Wright, Kevin Pietersen, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, James Faulkner, Peter Handscomb (WK), John Hastings (C), Adam Zampa, Scott Boland, Michael Beer

Brisbane Heat: Jimmy Peirson (WK), Brendon McCullum (C), Chris Lynn, Joe Burns, Ben Cutting, Alex Ross, Shadab Khan, Josh Lalor, Mark Steketee, Brendan Doggett, Mitchell Swepson