THE EDGE: The Edge previews the BBL Final between Final Hobart Hurricanes v Sydney Thunder with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
Final: Hobart Hurricanes v Sydney Thunder
MATCH OVERVIEW:
And then there were two! The Big Bash Final will be the focus on Monday morning on BETDAQ Betting Exchange as Hobart Hurricanes meet Sydney Thunder. This is a huge game for both franchises, who aren’t used to success. Sydney Thunder managed their sole win back in 2015/16, while Hobart Hurricanes are the only Big Bash franchise to have never won the title. They’ve been beaten in the Final twice, while Sydney Thunder have won the only Final they reached. The Hurricanes have had their feet up all week after winning the Qualifier against Sydney Sixers, while the Thunder had to get here the hard way.
It’s an interesting debate who has the “momentum” here – that classic cricket phrase that everyone loves – the Hurricanes topped the table and looked pretty comfortable in their Qualifier. While the Thunder have won back-to-back pressure games now with their spinners really performing superbly well under the most intense pressure. Sam Billings lead them home in a reasonably tricky chase on Friday – you could say they need something big from David Warner in the Final now. At the top of the innings, he has all the experience in big games and doesn’t everyone need a good start in a big game!
While the Hurricanes do lack a star on paper, they do have a very well balanced side with a lot of experience in their middle order. It’s not a surprise that they topped the table, and they have been pretty consistent right through the tournament since their horror collapse for 74 in their opening game! A fascinating game awaits; it should be very close with plenty of drama.
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
Hobart Hurricanes have home advantage which is a slight advantage. However, Sydney Thunder did play here this season and to be honest, playing conditions have been pretty even here. The best thing to say about the Bellerive Oval is that the side who plays the best cricket usually wins – there isn’t a massive bias in batting or bowling first which will decide the game. The first inning scores here have been 155/6 (chased), 161/6 (won), 186/5 (chased), 164/6 (chased), 154/7 (chased) and 173/7 (won). Chasing has won more games here this season, but runs on the board in a big game is usually favoured in Australia.
RECOMMENDED BET:
Hobart Hurricanes are quite big favourites here – they are trading 1.71 at the time of writing. I have to say, I expected them to be favourites given they’ve topped the table and have home advantage, but I wasn’t expecting them to be as short as 1.71. I do feel that Sydney Thunder offer marginal value at 2.36 or bigger. There are worries about them of course – I don’t really like their middle order but they delivered on Friday lead by Sam Billings. Their bowlers are in excellent form though, and that’s going to be important here. As I said above, I just feel this will be a really close game and the 2.36 is the value play in my opinion.
The Edge Says:
One point win Sydney Thunder to beat Hobart Hurricanes at 2.36 with Betdaq Betting Exchange
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/HobThu
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
Batting conditions are usually consistent here; we don’t see many low scores. As I said above, there isn’t any major bias here that you’d want to focus on from a trading point of view. I do feel the Thunder bowlers are in excellent form, especially the spinners, and that could easily be an area to focus on. If Thunder bat first and get a reasonable score, there’s going to be a lot of pressure in the middle overs of the chase, and that’s probably the best time to look for a trade on the bowling side. We should see a very close game here, I’d expect plenty of market swings so don’t get married to a position early.
