The Brisbane Heat cannot afford to slip up when they host the red-hot Hobart Hurricanes in a crucial Big Bash League clash on Thursday at the Gabba.
The defending champions Heat remain outside the top four in the standings with two games to go and may have to win both of them to have any chance of reaching the Finals.
Colin Munro’s side have lost four of their last six games and came up well short in a run chase against the Adelaide Strikers last time out.
But they will be boosted by the return of Aussie Test duo Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne, who will make the Heat’s line-up for the first time this season.
Khawaja will lead the side in the absence of Munro, who dislocated his finger while fielding against the Strikers on Saturday.
Opener Jack Wood also drops out while English all-rounder Paul Walter comes back into the squad after recovering from a minor shoulder niggle.
The Hurricanes come into this match in excellent form, having won their last six completed games.
Their batting lineup has been firing on all cylinders, with multiple players contributing big scores. On the bowling front, the Hurricanes have also been impressive, restricting opponents effectively.
Hobart, who have never previously won the Big Bash League, are ideally placed to reach the Finals for the first time in three years with 13 points from their eight matches.
This will be the first time these teams have met since an epic clash in the League stage last year.
The Brisbane Heat are 1.85 to come out on top again after they held their nerve to secure a one-run victory in a rain-affected game at the Gabba.
Xavier Bartlett claimed 3-30 and paceman Spencer Johnson picked up a couple of late wickets to prevent Hobart from reaching their DLS target of 117.
Bartlett, who has 10 scalps in this season’s competition, and Johnson are both available at 2.10 to claim over 1.5 wickets in Thursday’s game.
Labuschagne, who averages 21.72 across his Big Bash career, is 1.83 to score more than 21.5 runs on his short-format debut this year.
Australia opener Nathan McSweeney is 1.83 to get more than 18.5 runs in the clash as he bids to follow his score of 43 against the Strikers.
The Hurricanes’ success this year has been a real team effort with the bulk of their runs and wickets coming from several different sources.
Mitchell Owen has grabbed the headlines after being moved up the order to open with devastating effect.
The 23-year-old is one of only two centurions in the tournament and his overall strike-rate of 176 is the third-highest among batters who have faced more than 100 deliveries.
Owen is the Hurricanes’ leading six-hitter with 22, three of which came off Jamie Overton in a five-wicket win over the Strikers a couple of Sundays ago.
He can be backed at 5.50 to hit the most sixes for Hobart with all-rounder Tim David, who has struck 13 BBL maximums this season, the 2.62 favourite in that market.
David has come to the boil just at the right time for Hobart, contributing scores of 33, 62 not out, 68 not out and 24 not out in four of the Hurricanes' last five matches.
The Australian international is 10.00 to take the Player of the Match award with Test duo Khawaja at 9.00 and Labuschagne 10.00 in the betting.
Hurricanes bowler Riley Meredith, who is 15.00, is two wickets away from 100 in Big Bash League cricket.
The right-arm paceman picked up 2-30 against the Sydney Thunder last week and 3-36 a couple of days ago against the Melbourne Renegades.
Meredith has the sixth-best strike rate among bowlers to have sent down more than 100 deliveries in this year’s tournament and can be backed at 2.50 to add the couple he needs to bring up the milestone.
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Brisbane Heat - 1.85
Hobart Hurricanes - 1.97
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.