BBL 09: 5-team final series: Explainer and Match Predictions

The five-team final series of The Big Bash League 2019-20 is upon us. There is novelty, there is excitement and there is mild confusion.

Following up on the zing bails and the bat flip, Cricket Australia has now introduced a new system for the knockouts, which is a 5-match knockout series played across two weekends. Five teams - Melbourne Stars, Sydney Sixers, Adelaide Strikers, Hobart Hurricanes and Sydney Thunder- have qualified for this extravaganza.

While this is cause for excitement, it is also essential to understand the workings of this new system. The names that have been assigned to these knockout games include two new ones. 'The Knockout' and 'The Challenger'. The remaining 'Eliminator', 'Qualifier' and 'Final' are also there as is the case in playoffs as well.

As per this format, the teams finishing 4th and 5th after the regular season will play 'The Eliminator' on January 30 while the teams finishing 1st and 2nd will play 'The Qualifier' on the next day.

The winner of 'The Eliminator' will take on the third-placed team before 'The Knock-Out' on February 1. In 'The Challenger', the loser of 'The Qualifier' will go up against the victor of 'The Knock-Out' on February 6 to have a shot at advancing to 'The Final'.

The Final will be held on February 8 between the winners of 'The Qualifier' and 'The Challenger'.

Here's a look at the predictions of the final series:

Melbourne Stars

Points table standing: 1st

Key Batsman: Glenn Maxwell

Key Bowler: Adam Zampa

 

Predicted playing XI: Nic Maddinson, Glenn Maxwell (c), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Peter Handscomb, Adam Zampa, Marcus Stoinis, Nick Larkin, Seb Gotch (wk), Sandeep Lamichhane, Clint Hinchliffe, Dilbar Hussain

 

Sydney Sixers 

Points table standing: 2nd

Key Batsman: Steven Smith

Key Bowler:  Sean Abbott (back from injury)

Predicted playing XI: Moises Henriques (c), Steve OKeefe, Steven Smith, Josh Hazlewood, James Vince, Nathan Lyon, Daniel Hughes, Jordan Silk,  Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Josh Philippe (wk)

 

Adelaide Strikers

Points table standing: 3rd

Key Batsman: Alex Carey

Key Bowler: Rashid Khan

 

Predicted playing XI: Peter Siddle, Michael Neser, Jonathan Wells, Travis Head (c), Alex Carey (wk), Matthew Short, Billy Stanlake, Philip Salt, Rashid Khan, Jake Weatherald , Wes Agar BenchHarry Conway, Liam O Connor

 

Hobart Hurricanes

Points table standing: 4th

Key Batsman: Matthew Wade

Key Bowler: Qais Ahmad

 

Predicted playing XI: George Bailey, Matthew Wade (c), David Miller, James Faulkner, Scott Boland, Clive Rose, Ben McDermott (wk), D Arcy Short, Qais Ahmad, Macalister Wright, Nathan Ellis

 

Sydney Thunder

Points table standing: 5th

Key Batsman: Alex Hales

Key Bowler: Daniel Sams

 

Predicted playing XI: Callum Ferguson (c), Usman Khawaja, Alex Hales, Chris Morris, Gurinder Sandhu, Chris Tremain, Alex Ross, Jay Lenton (wk), Arjun Nair, Daniel Sams, Jonathan Cook

 

 

Here's a look at the finals series fixtures:

Big Bash League 2019-20

Eliminator: Jan 30 Hobart Hurricanes v Sydney Thunder at Blundstone Arena 7AM

Qualifier: Jan 31 Melbourne Stars v Sydney Sixers at MCG.7AM

Knock-Out: Feb 01 Adelaide Strikers v winner of The Eliminator at Adelaide Oval. 7AM

Challenger: Feb 06 : Loser of The Qualifier v winner of The Knockout, 7:40pm AEDT at MCG or SCG.

Final: Feb 08 Winner of The Qualifier v winner of The Challenger, 7:15pm AEDT at MCG or SCG.

©Cricket World 2020