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Adelaide Strikers face uphill task against Melbourne Stars

by Sandeep Shivam Tuesday 10 January 2017

As seen in the game against Hobart Hurricanes, the batting depends a lot on Ben Dunk and Brad Hodge

©REUTERS MEDIA EXPRESS

22nd Match - Melbourne Stars v Adelaide Strikers
10th January, Melbourne Cricket Ground, 19:40 local | 08:40 GMT

As the battle for top four is heating up, Adelaide Strikers will be hoping to carry forward their momentum into game 22 of the Big Bash League where they lock horns with Melbourne Starts at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Tuesday.

The Strikers, however, will have to deal with hamstring injury to Chris Jordan, who has been their leading wicket-taker this season with nine from five games while the second in the list Billy Stanlake along with Travis Head have headed for their national duty to take on Pakistan.

As seen in the game against Hobart Hurricanes, the batting depends a lot on Ben Dunk and Brad Hodge, who have over 200 runs in the tournament and are among the top five run-getters this season. Despite, the setback, the five-wicket win against Hobart Hurricanes is expected to provide them some confidence when take on the star studded team led by David Hussey. Ish Sodhi, Tim Ludeman and Wes Agar have joined the squad for the Strikers.

On the other hand, Melbourne Stars are easily one of the most powerful and balanced team around in the tournament. Even though, they lost couple of tight games, the win against Melbourne Renegades in the derby game will give them a lot of confidence.

Kevin Pietersen, with his limited appearances have already gone on to top the list of their leading run-getters while Rob Quiney, Luke Wright are among the runs too which comes at a healthy strike-rate making them one of the most dangerous side around. However, they will miss the services of Glenn Maxwell, who is busy with the Australian team.

The Stars are further dampened by the absence of James Faulkner and Adam Zampa leaving Ben Hilfenhaus, Scott Boland and Michael Beer to take the additional responsibility.

Face to Face:

The only time these two teams met during the last season was during the second game of the tournament when Adelaide Strikers riding on fifties from Brad Hodge and Alex Ross secured a 19-run win while defending 188 against Melbourne Stars.

Kane Richardson, Adil Rashid and Ben Lauglin shared seven wickets between them for Adelaide Strikers.

Squads from:

Melbourne Stars: Luke Wright, Glenn Maxwell, Kevin Pietersen, Rob Quiney, David Hussey(capt), James Faulkner, Sam Harper(w), Adam Zampa, Ben Hilfenhaus, Scott Boland, Michael Beer, Seb Gotch, Evan Gulbis, Peter Handscomb, Jackson Coleman, Marcus Stoinis, Tom Triffitt, Daniel Worrall

Adelaide Strikers: Jake Weatherald, Brad Hodge(capt), Ben Dunk(w), Jonathon Dean, Travis Head, Kieron Pollard, Chris Jordan, Tom Andrews, Ben Laughlin, Billy Stanlake, Liam O'Connor, Michael Neser, Jake Lehmann, Alex Carey, Wes Agar, Kelvin Smith, Craig Simmons, Kane Richardson, Adil Rashid, Tim Ludeman, Jon Holland