Sydney Thunder are out to avenge their loss in last season's Eliminator when they open their KFC BBL|13 campaign against the Brisbane Heat
All you need to know: Sydney Thunder v Brisbane Heat
Match facts
Who: Sydney Thunder v Brisbane Heat
What: Match 6, BBL|13
Where: Manuka Oval, Canberra
When: Tuesday, December 12. Bat flip at 6.30pm AEDT, first ball at 7.15pm AEDT
How to watch: Channel Seven, Fox Cricket, Kayo Sports
Buy tickets: Tickets are on sale here
Live scores: Match Centre
Highlights, news and reactions after the match: cricket.com.au, the CA Live and Big Bash apps
Officials: Bruce Oxenford (field), Gerard Abood (field), Simon Lightbody (third), Troy Penman (fourth), Steve Davis (match referee)
Match squads
Thunder: Cameron Bancroft, Ollie Davies, Liam Doddrell, Matthew Gilkes, Toby Gray, Chris Green, Alex Hales (England), Liam Hatcher, Zaman Khan (Pakistan), Nathan McAndrew, Blake Nikitaras, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Gurinder Sandhu, Tanveer Sangha
Heat: Colin Munro (New Zealand) (c), Xavier Bartlett, Sam Billings (England), Josh Brown, Max Bryant, Jordan Buckingham, Spencer Johnson, Matthew Kuhnemann, Nathan McSweeney, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Mitch Swepson, Paul Walter (England)
Form guide
Thunder: LWLWL (most recent first)
The Thunder are the last team to open their campaign for BBL|13 and come up against the club that ended their season last summer. The Thunder were the first of the Heat's victims as they charged into the BBL|12 decider from fifth place, going down by eight runs (DLS method) in the rain-affected Eliminator at Sydney Showground Stadium.
Heat: DWLWW
The Adelaide rain prevented any play in their clash with the Strikers on Saturday, but the Heat will still be riding high after their 103-run demolition of the Stars in the BBL|13 season opener. Will be out to enhance their pre-season credentials as one of the teams to beat with another strong showing in Canberra.
KFC BBL|13 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
HEA
|
10 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0.972 | 0 | 16 |
|
2
SIX
|
10 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.339 | 0 | 14 |
|
3
SCO
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.725 | 0 | 13 |
|
4
STR
|
10 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0.331 | 0 | 11 |
|
5
HUR
|
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -0.268 | 0 | 8 |
|
6
STA
|
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -1.051 | 0 | 8 |
|
7
REN
|
10 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2 | -0.288 | 0 | 6 |
|
8
THU
|
10 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2 | -0.652 | 0 | 4 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points
Players to watch
New Thunder recruit Cameron Bancroft has been scoring runs every time he bats of late and in the Big Bash it's no different. Was one of the most sought-after players during the off-season following his 357 runs striking at 140 in 11 matches for the Scorchers last season before the Thunder got their man. This match also marks the BBL return of Tanveer Sangha who missed last season with a back stress fracture. Has made his ODI and T20I debut in the past few months and spent the victorious World Cup campaign travelling with the Australian squad as a reserve.
Also keep an eye on new full-time captain Chris Green who also made his T20I debut earlier this month and Ollie Davies who has been NSW's best performed batter to start the domestic summer. Former captain Jason Sangha misses the match with a wrist injury sustained at training and Toby Gray comes into the squad as a replacement player for an ill Will Salzmann.
New Zealand international Colin Munro opened his BBL|13 campaign with a blazing 99no against the Stars and after a false start in Adelaide, will take on the Heat captaincy with Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne in Perth for the first Test against Pakistan beginning on Thursday. He'll likely open with the big-hitting Josh Brown who is in line to play his first match of the year after a breakout campaign last season. Nathan McSweeney, centurion Matthew Renshaw and wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson return to the Heat squad after representing the Prime Minister's XI last week, as does Jordan Buckingham who has been added as a replacement player after five wickets against Pakistan.
Head-to-head
Overall: Thunder (7 wins), Heat (11 wins), no result (1)
At Manuka Oval: Thunder (2 wins), Heat (1 wins)
Most runs: Chris Lynn (589), Usman Khawaja (254), Jimmy Peirson (216), Shane Watson (215), Michael Hussey (212)
Most wickets: Daniel Sams (17), Chris Green (14), Mark Steketee (12), Gurinder Sandhu (9), Nathan McAndrew (9)
The venue
Rapid stats
- Alex Hales (94) is six away from registering 100 sixes in the BBL. If he reaches the mark against the Heat, he will become just the fifth men's player to do so after Chris Lynn (194), Aaron Finch (118), Ben McDermott (111) and Glenn Maxwell (110).
- The Heat have enjoyed more success chasing in this head-to-head match-up than their Sydney rivals, winning six games batting second compared to the Thunder's three. The Heat average a total of 144 runs batting second compared to the Thunder's 102.
- While the Heat have an overall winning record against the Thunder, the Thunder have enjoyed better success at Manuka Oval where they hold a 2-1 record over Brisbane. The last of those matches was in BBL|11 when Alex Ross (61no) and Sam Billings (44no) – then playing for the Thunder – helped chase down the Heat's 8-140 with seven wickets and 17 balls to spare.
What's on the line?
A win would return the Heat at the top of the BBL|13 standings after winning their opening match and gaining one point from their washout with the Strikers. As the only side to play three matches in the first week, Brisbane are out to get a jump on their rivals who will have games in hand later in tournament. The Thunder – one of those sides who will only play once in the first week – will want to avenge last season's loss in the Eliminator by getting their BBL|13 campaign off on the right foot.
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