Preview
Perth Scorchers might be the best team, arguably, in the Big Bash League’s rich history, but they will be up against it as they face the Sydney Thunder in the 12th match of the 2020 edition of the tournament. The Scorchers have played two matches, but faced a no result in one while losing the other.
The Thunder, on the other hand, have had one win and a loss in their two matches so far. While their batting has looked just average, the bowling unit is taking shape nicely. The spin stocks led by Tanveer Sangha and aided by Jonathan Cook has been impressive and could be a factor this game. They needed an otherworldly knock from Daniel Sams for their only win so far.
Team news
The Thunder have very little availability issues with most of their squad fit. They are still awaiting the arrival of Sam Billings, who will boost the batting that isn’t strong enough to cope without him for the time being at least.
The Scorchers could benefit from a return for Ashton Agar while Matthew Kelly or Joel Paris could also get a game. Sam Whiteman could also be considered in the batting order. Joe Clarke and Colin Munro have gelled in well into the setup, a massive positive for them.
Overall squads
Sydney Thunder: Sam Billings, Jonathan Cook, Ben Cutting, Oliver Davies, Brendan Doggett, Callum Ferguson, Matt Gilkes, Chris Green, Alex Hales, Baxter Holt, Usman Khawaja, Nathan McAndrew, Adam Milne, Arjun Nair, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, Chris Tremain
Perth Scorchers: Ashton Agar, Fawad Ahmed, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Joe Clarke, Cameron Gannon, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kelly, Liam Livingstone, Mitchell Marsh, Colin Munro, Joel Paris, Kurtis Patterson, Jhye Richardson, Jason Roy, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Sam Whiteman
Probable XI
Sydney Thunder: Usman Khawaja, Alex Hales, Callum Ferguson, Alex Ross, Baxter Holt, Ben Cutting, Daniel Sams, Chris Green, Nathan McAndrew, Jonathan Cook, Tanveer Sangha
Perth Scorchers: Colin Munro, Josh Inglis (wk), Joe Clarke, Mitchell Marsh, Ashton Turner (c), Cameron Bancroft, Aaron Hardie, Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff, Fawad Ahmed
Key players
Daniel Sams: A new ball option and a good hitter down the order, Sams is already proving to be one of their most valuable players. The left-armer will be expected to become a key part of the bowling unit too in the next few games.
Colin Munro: A fearsome T20 opener, the New Zealand batsman has gotten starts but hasn’t converted them into match-winning knocks yet. Munro is capable of that and the Scorchers will know that too.