Brisbane will take on Hobart one more time in the Australian T20 League 2020-21 after a 4-wickets triumph in the previous meeting.
Match Timings: Dec 30, 1:45 PM IST
Team Preview
Brisbane will face Hobart after opening the winning account on Sunday against the same opponent. Brisbane’s campaign has a story of twists. First, they were defeated by Daniel Sams’ carnage, and later, Peirson’s hard-fought half-century went in vain. In the absense of Lynn, Peirson broke this losing attitude and upset all the odds to emerge victorious against a strong Hobart side. Brisbane’s bowlers put a commendable show and restricted Hobart on 148, riding on Gregory’s three-wicket haul and Steketee’s two scalps. Brisbane dominated the game with a blistering start of 73 in 6 overs. The middle-order collapsed, and they lost six wickets in the margin of 27 runs. James Bazley scored a vital 31 off 19 balls to cross the line for Brisbane.
With earning all four points from the previous game, Brisbane would aim to extend this approach. Jack Sinfield has been recalled as a replacement for Morne Morkel, who is completing two-weeks isolation. Chris Lynn would miss yet another game due to injury, and Peirson would lead the side for the third straight game. Brisbane will also welcome English player Joe Denly at the Gabba, and he may replace out-of-form Daniel Lawrence.
Meanwhile, Hobart started the campaign pretty high, with three wins and two Bash Boost Points, but they suffered a 4-wickets loss to Brisbane after the Christmas break. It was a batting failure at Gabba as Hobart put 148 while batting first. It was Faulkner and Parker who added important runs in the end to get this total. Their bowlers showed some hope in middle-order, but the total wasn’t enough. The quick start from the openers also took away the Bash Boost Point.
The bowling is Hobart’s key asset, and they have been a compact bowling unit of this competition. Faulkner and Meredith have been consistent with the pace. Nathan Ellis has also bowled very well and pretty useful in death. Faulkner will miss this game due to the injury. McDermott and Colin Ingram are taking charge of the batting unit, but consistency starts from the top-order. Hobart had lost its previous game against Brisbane, but they are the slightly better side. It would be a cracking contest between two sides, and Hobart might take the final laugh.
PitchReport
The Gabba has a good bounce, and it will help the pacers. It’s a good batting track, but batsmen require some sensible approach to bat here. 16-170 is a par score on this ground, and chasing would be an ideal call.
Possible XI
Hobart
D Arcy Short, Dawid Malan, Ben McDermott (wk), Peter Handscomb (c), Colin Ingram, Tim David, Johan Botha, Nathan Ellis, Scott Boland, Wil Parker, Riley Meredith
Brisbane
Sam Heazlett, Max Bryant, Joe Denly, Tom Cooper, Jack Wildermuth, Lewis Gregory, Jimmy Peirson (c & wk), James Bazley, Mark Steketee, Xavier Bartlett, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Key Players
Hobart
Colin Ingram
This season so far – M: 5, Runs: 161, Avg: 32.20
Dawid Malan
Last SA series – M: 3, Runs: 173, Avg: 86.50
Brisbane
Jack Wildermuth
This season so far – M: 3, Wickets: 5, Avg: 14.20
Jimmy Peirson
This season so far – M: 4, Runs: 104, SR: 142.46
