Everything you need to know as the Strikers host the Heat in their annual New Year's Eve blockbuster at Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Strikers v Brisbane Heat: match preview
Match facts
Who: Adelaide Strikers v Brisbane Heat
What: Match 17, KFC BBL|15
Where: Adelaide Oval
When: Wednesday, December 31. Bat flip at 6pm local (6.30pm AEDT), first ball at 6.45pm local (7.15pm AEDT)
How to watch: Channel Seven, 7plus, 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: Troy Penman and Mike Graham-Smith (field), Gerard Abood (third), Eloise Sheridan (fourth), Steve Davis (match referee)
Match squads
Adelaide Strikers: Hassan Ali, Mackenzie Harvey, Chris Lynn, Harry Manenti, Harry Nielsen, Jamie Overton, Lloyd Pope, Alex Ross, Jason Sangha, Liam Scott, Matt Short (c), Henry Thornton, Jerrssis Wadia, Luke Wood
Ins: Alex Ross. Outs: -
An Alex Ross call-up for New Year's Eve is the only change for the Strikers. The Big Bash stalwart came out of the touring group for Adelaide's last match against the Heat, but has returned to the fold as his side seeks to even up its ledger before the new year.
Brisbane Heat: 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, Jack Wood
Ins: Jack Wood. Outs: Shaneen Shah Afridi (injured), Tom Alsop (injured)
A massive blow for the Heat, with international signing Shaheen Shah Afridi ruled out for New Year's Eve blockbuster after injuring his knee in his most BBL recent outing. Afridi joins Tom Alsop on the sidelines, who is also managing a knee issue sustained in the same match. A return-to-play timeline for both players will be determined in the coming days. Meanwhile Jack Wood has made his way back to the Brisbane Heat, signing on as a Local Replacement Player for Usman Khawaja, who remains on national duties. As per BBL competition rules, Wood must be named in the final 12 for the match.
Club news
Adelaide Strikers
Brisbane Heat
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Players to watch
Jerrssis Wadia (Strikers): The young spin-bowling allrounder was the second top scorer for his side in just his second BBL games in their last match against the Heat. Immediately put the competition on notice with three straight sixes and a four off Jack Wildermuth to start his innings before finishing with 34 from 16 balls in the Strikers' ultimately unsuccessful run chase. Could that breakthrough performance prove the catalyst for bigger and better things in BBL|15?
Tom Balkin (Heat): It was a stunning BBL debut for the 21-year-old speedster as he iced the game for his side with a two-run final over in their last match against the Strikers. Consistently topped the 140kph mark to finish with 2-30 off 3.5 overs. Can Balkin repeat the effort in the return clash in Adelaide?
Top performers
Most Runs
BBL|15 BKT Golden Bat
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
1
Matthew Renshaw
M Renshaw
|
196 |
|
2
Sam Harper
S Harper
|
194 |
|
3
Nikhil Chaudhary
N Chaudhary
|
180 |
|
4
Josh Philippe
J Philippe
|
180 |
|
5
Ben McDermott
B McDermott
|
165 |
|
6
Tim Seifert
T Seifert
|
162 |
|
7
Cooper Connolly
C Connolly
|
142 |
|
8
Finn Allen
F Allen
|
138 |
Most Wickets
BBL|15 BKT Golden Arm
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
|
1
Haris Rauf
H Rauf
|
9 |
|
2
Tom Curran
T Curran
|
9 |
|
3
Jack Wildermuth
J Wildermuth
|
8 |
|
4
Jack Edwards
J Edwards
|
8 |
|
5
Peter Siddle
P Siddle
|
8 |
|
6
Rishad Hossain
M Hossain
|
8 |
|
7
Marcus Stoinis
M Stoinis
|
7 |
|
8
Nathan Ellis
N Ellis
|
7 |
Most sixes scored
BBL|15
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
|
1
Finn Allen
F Allen
|
13 |
|
2
Matthew Renshaw
M Renshaw
|
13 |
|
3
Cooper Connolly
C Connolly
|
11 |
|
4
Nikhil Chaudhary
N Chaudhary
|
10 |
|
5
Ben McDermott
B McDermott
|
9 |
|
6
Tim Seifert
T Seifert
|
9 |
|
7
Jack Wildermuth
J Wildermuth
|
9 |
|
8
Sam Harper
S Harper
|
8 |
Local knowledge
Rapid stats
- Brisbane Heat have won five of their past six BBL matches against Adelaide Strikers, including a seven-run victory when they last met earlier this season on December 27. Although, their only defeat in that span came in their most recent clash at Adelaide Oval last season.
- Adelaide Strikers have won only one of their past five BBL matches at Adelaide Oval – a 56-run victory in their most recent meeting there against Brisbane Heat (January 11, 2025). The Strikers have lost each of their two games at the venue since then, a third consecutive defeat would equal their longest losing run in such fixtures in the history of the competition (lost three in January 2014 and again from December 2011 to December 2012).
- Brisbane Heat haven't taken a wicket during the Powerplay in each of their past two BBL innings, after recording at least one wicket in each of their three innings prior during this period; the last time they recorded a longer run without a wicket during this period was a three-match span from December 2022 to January 2023.
- Luke Wood (Adelaide Strikers) has taken eight wickets at a strike rate of 11.9 across his past four BBL innings, recording at least one wicket in each of those four innings, including two wickets in each of his two matches against the Heat in that span.
- Matt Renshaw (Brisbane Heat) has scored 358 runs at an average of 51.1 across his last eight BBL innings, including two 30-plus scores against the Strikers in that span (34, 33).
What's on the line?
A third win of the season and second in a row against the Strikers see the Heat reach the halfway mark of BBL|15 entrenched inside the top four. The Strikers meanwhile are seeking to get back on the winners list after dropping their past two games, with a second win of the season likely to see them move back into the top half of the standings.
KFC BBL|15 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
STA
|
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.779 | 0 | 8 |
|
2
HUR
|
5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.432 | 0 | 8 |
|
3
HEA
|
4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -0.479 | 0 | 4 |
|
4
SIX
|
4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.096 | 0 | 2 |
|
5
SCO
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.035 | 0 | 2 |
|
6
STR
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -0.371 | 0 | 2 |
|
7
THU
|
4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | -0.924 | 0 | 2 |
|
8
REN
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -1.003 | 0 | 2 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points