Brisbane Heat will be looking to carry the momentum they have gained from their victories in the last two matches forward when they lock horns with Melbourne Stars at the Metricon Stadium on Wednesday. The Heat started the season with three losses on the trot but they have gone on to win three out of their last four matches, which has helped them in rising to the seventh spot in the table.
The Stars, on the other hand, were sitting comfortably at the top of the table after the first two games but they have slipped down to the fifth spot now having lost three of their last five matches. They had lost three matches on the trot recently and some of them were close ones as well. But they bounced back with a win in the previous match and will be hoping to get another positive result here. They have a strong top-order with the likes of Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis in it, but it is their middle and Lower-order that has let them down. The bowling unit has been pretty inconsistent too and they need to address these issues ahead of this encounter.
The Heat have started finding their best XI now with the arrival of Joe Denly and Joe Burns in their middle-order. Their Afghan import Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman has been sensational with his bowling once again and Mark Steketee has turned the heat on with his death-overs bowling ever since he has been included in the XI. The team seems to be in good shape now and they are riding high on confidence too. It won’t be a surprise if they go on to complete a hat-trick of wins here.
Team News
Melbourne Stars haven’t changed their squad whereas Brisbane Heat have made two changes. Jack Wood and Lachlan Pfeffer are back in as Connor Sully and Jack Sinfield misses out.
Probable Playing XIs
Brisbane Heat:
Max Bryant, Joe Denly, Chris Lynn (C), Jack Wildermuth, Joe Burns, Lewis Gregory, Jimmy Peirson (WK), James Bazley, Mark Steketee, Xavier Bartlett, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Melbourne Stars:
Andre Fletcher, Marcus Stoinis, Hilton Cartwright, Glenn Maxwell (C), Nicholas Pooran (WK), Seb Gotch, Sam Rainbird, Nick Larkin, Liam Hatcher, Billy Stanlake, Adam Zampa
Key Players
Chris Lynn (Brisbane Heat)
The Heat skipper had to sit out of the last few matches having suffered a hamstring injury but he came on as an X-Factor substitute in the last match and hammered 30 off just 16 deliveries to power the Heat to a win. He will be looking to make an equally good impact in this match.
Glenn Maxwell (Melbourne Stars)
The Stars skipper has been in fabulous batting form this season. Maxwell has amassed 255 runs in this season, at an average of 51.00, and that includes two fifties as well. He will fancy his chances of scoring big against an average Brisbane Heat bowling attack once again.