THE EDGE: Our cricket tipster The Edge previews Saturday’s Big Bash match between Sydney Sixers v Sydney Thunder with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
MATCH OVERVIEW:
It’s a massive Sydney Derby at the Big Bash on BETDAQ Betting Exchange! Sydney Thunder recorded a huge win on Thursday morning over playoff contenders Melbourne Renegades, and that moved them into the playoff places for the time being. The Sydney Sixers are five points ahead of them though, and they look comfortable at the moment. It would be a big surprise if Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers didn’t take up the top two spots at this stage, but everything is to play for looking at the sides positioned between third and sixth.
That win over Melbourne Renegades was huge for the Thunder for two reasons – it stopped a run of three straight losses, and it also gives them a great chance of getting into that third of fourth spot. It’s going to go right to the wire though, and the games are running out at the moment. You’d have to expect the Sixers to win here given how impressive they have been in the tournament so far – you only have to look at the table to see that – and they come here off the back of a very impressive win over the Adelaide Strikers. Questions where asked about Steven Smith in T20, well he answered that! 101 runs off just 56 balls with seven sixes – his doubters will be quiet for a while.
You’d definitely have to worry about the form of the Sixers other opener though in Josh Philippe and that could be an angle for the Thunder. It was always going to be interesting how the Aussie Test players performed coming into the Big Bash late, and you’d have to say David Warner hasn’t hit the ground running. He scored 26 runs on Thursday which has been his highest score, but they came off 23 balls which is a very poor strike rate in T20. Warner v Smith could decide the game!
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
This is the fifth and final game at the SCG, and the scoring hasn’t been too high here. The first inning scores have been 137/6 (won), 150/5 (chased), 149/8 (won) and 151/5 (won). The 150 that was chased went to the final over, and that was Sydney Sixers winning against Melbourne Stars who have been very poor this season. In the past the SCG would have produced better wickets for batting, but it looks like scoring has been tough here and we should expect a score close to 150. You definitely want to bat first looking at the scores defended.
RECOMMENDED BET:
It’s no surprise that Sydney Sixers are the favourites here. They are a very solid side, everyone knows their role well within the squad and they are performing too. The worries about Steven Smith not batting quick enough for T20 were put to bed with his 100, and their bowling is much better than the Thunder. From a Thunder point of view, it was good that they broke their losing run against the Renegades but the Renegades batting was poor that day. The 1.67 is big enough to back the Sixers here; they should get the job done here.
The Edge Says:
Two points win Sydney Sixers to beat Sydney Thunder at 1.67 with Betdaq Exchange
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/SixThu
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
I would be a lot more confident in the Sixers batting compared to the Thunder batting, but it seems wise to look for a trade on the side batting first here, or defending the score. Batting has looked reasonably tricky here, so I wouldn’t stay on either batting side for long but if it’s coming to the end of the first innings and they are set for a decent score (150+) then that would seem the best time to enter the market. It’s likely if they are defending 150+ they’ll be a in a good position, and getting on the bowling side could offer a nice trade in the second innings. I’d also look to take on David Warner again – he has given us plenty of success so far, and he still looks worth taking on. Even scoring 25+ he didn’t do it quickly the other morning.
