Get all the latest team news and broadcast details as Brisbane Heat host Adelaide Strikers at the Gabba
Brisbane Heat v Adelaide Strikers: match preview
Match facts
Who: Brisbane Heat v Adelaide Strikers
What: Match 13, KFC BBL|15
Where: The Gabba, Brisbane
When: Saturday, December 27. Bat flip at 5.30pm local (6.30pm AEDT), first ball at 6.15pm local (7.15pm AEDT)
How to watch: Fox Cricket, Kayo Sports
Listen: ABC, SEN Radio. Listen in standard and real-time with no delay to live play via Cricket Radio on the CA Live app. Find out more here
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: Steve Dionysius and Donovan Koch (field), Sam Nogajski (third), Riki Wessels (fourth), Joanne Broadbent (match referee)
Match squads
Brisbane Heat: Shaheen Shah Afridi, Tom Alsop, Tom Balkin, Xavier Bartlett (c), Max Bryant, Liam Haskett, Lachlan Hearne, Matthew Kuhnemann, Colin Munro, Oli Patterson, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Hugh Weibgen, Jack Wildermuth
Ins: Oli Patterson. Outs: Nil.
Oli Patterson returns to the squad to round out the group of 14, with no other changes made for the Heat. Xavier Bartlett will continue stand-in captaincy duties after his maiden outing in the role last week.
Adelaide Strikers: Hassan Ali, Mackenzie Harvey, Chris Lynn, Harry Manenti, Harry Nielsen, Jamie Overton, Lloyd Pope, Jason Sangha, Liam Scott, Matt Short (c), Henry Thornton, Jerrssis Wadia, Luke Wood
Ins: Nil. Outs: Alex Ross (omitted).
Alex Ross comes out of the squad, with the Strikers to field a group of 13 heading into their match against the Heat. Meanwhile, Harry Manenti and recent debutant Jerrssis Wadia retain their place in the squad.
Club news
Brisbane Heat
Adelaide Strikers
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Players to watch
Matt Renshaw (Heat): The experience left-hander has been the Heat's most consistent batter in recent seasons and is off to a hot start in BBL|15, accumulating the second most runs of all batters so far this season with 163 at an average of 54.33 and a strike rate of 179 in his three games so far. Renshaw recently smashed his maiden T20 century with 102 off 51 balls during their massive chase against Perth.
Matt Short (Strikers): The second Matt to keep an eye on for this match, the Strikers captain comes into their clash with the Heat following a half-century in their loss to the Stars on Tuesday. He has 71 runs striking at 133 in two games this season and will be key in countering Brisbane's star new ball quicks Xavier Bartlett and Shaheen Afridi. Short hasn't hit a half-century in his past six BBL innings at the Gabba since his 62 in his first match at the venue in 2018.
Top performers
Most Runs
BBL|15 BKT Golden Bat
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
1
Josh Philippe
J Philippe
|
170 |
|
2
Matthew Renshaw
M Renshaw
|
163 |
|
3
Ben McDermott
B McDermott
|
156 |
|
4
Cooper Connolly
C Connolly
|
136 |
|
5
Tim Seifert
T Seifert
|
136 |
|
6
Nikhil Chaudhary
N Chaudhary
|
127 |
|
7
Jack Wildermuth
J Wildermuth
|
124 |
|
8
Matthew Gilkes
M Gilkes
|
108 |
Most Wickets
BBL|15 BKT Golden Arm
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
|
1
Jack Edwards
J Edwards
|
8 |
|
2
Jack Wildermuth
J Wildermuth
|
6 |
|
3
Chris Jordan
C Jordan
|
6 |
|
4
Shadab Khan
S Khan
|
6 |
|
5
Haris Rauf
H Rauf
|
5 |
|
6
Jason Behrendorff
J Behrendorff
|
4 |
|
7
Tom Curran
T Curran
|
4 |
|
8
Peter Siddle
P Siddle
|
4 |
Most sixes scored
BBL|15
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
|
1
Cooper Connolly
C Connolly
|
11 |
|
2
Matthew Renshaw
M Renshaw
|
11 |
|
3
Finn Allen
F Allen
|
10 |
|
4
Ben McDermott
B McDermott
|
9 |
|
5
Jack Wildermuth
J Wildermuth
|
9 |
|
6
Nikhil Chaudhary
N Chaudhary
|
7 |
|
7
Tim Seifert
T Seifert
|
7 |
|
8
Sam Billings
S Billings
|
6 |
Local knowledge
Rapid stats
- Adelaide Strikers defeated the Brisbane Heat by 56 runs when they last met in the BBL earlier this year (January 11, 2025), snapping a four-match losing run against them; the Strikers will be aiming for consecutive wins against the Heat for the first time since January 2021.
- Each of the Brisbane Heat's past six BBL matches at the Gabba have been won by the team bowling first on the day; the Heat have won three of those six games.
- Xavier Bartlett (Brisbane Heat) has drawn a false shot on 47 of his balls bowled in this BBL|15 season, eight more than any other player in the competition; in fact, teammates Jack Wildermuth (38) and Shaheen Afridi (38) are ranked joint-third in this category (Daniel Sams – 39 for Sydney Thunder).
- Jamie Overton (Adelaide Strikers) has taken five wickets at a strike rate of 14.4 across his past three BBL innings, more than he logged in his five innings prior in the competition (4); he's taken only one wicket across two career innings against the Heat.
What's on the line?
Both teams are chasing their second win of the season and currently sit in the bottom half of the standings with the Strikers sixth and Heat seventh. It means a win is crucial in keeping pace with the finals race in the early stages of the campaign.
KFC BBL|15 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
STA
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.541 | 0 | 4 |
|
2
HUR
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.45 | 0 | 4 |
|
3
SIX
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.569 | 0 | 2 |
|
4
SCO
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.365 | 0 | 2 |
|
5
THU
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -0.258 | 0 | 2 |
|
6
STR
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -0.376 | 0 | 2 |
|
7
HEA
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -0.755 | 0 | 2 |
|
8
REN
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -1.331 | 0 | 2 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points