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CLAIM NOWToss Winner - Melbourne Stars Women won the toss and chose to bowl first
Melbourne Stars Women beat Hobart Hurricanes Women by 8 wickets
WBBL2020: Stars, Hurricanes in the battle against weather
Melbourne Stars are favourites to win the match
Tournament: WOMENS BIG BASH LEAGUE 2020 | Format: T20 | Venue: Drummoyne Oval, Sydney, Australia | Toss: To Bowl
Bet NowHeavy rain continues to torment the 2020 WBBL season with matches experiencing far more no results than completed games. The Stars have been the most hurt, having had to share points in all their fixtures so far with barely any play possible. Their opponents for this game, the Hurricanes, would argue that they have been the most unfortunate, given how teasingly the rains took away a win that were on the cusp of in the previous encounter.
More rain is on the radar this weekend in Sydney and the teams have no option but to accept whatever that comes their way. Both sides will be desperate to open their win tally but apart from having to face each other, it’s the unbeatable weather that looks the biggest threat at the moment. Hurricanes are coming off a strong performance against defending champions Heat, a contest that the former was about to win before the weather cut in. They’ll need that boost to deal with a strong Stars side.
They were three deliveries away from registering a thumping win over the defending champions before the rains interrupted for good. What would have been a morale-boosting victory turned out to be another no-result and it will hurt the Hurricanes who had a great chance to also up their net run rate which had got a beating after their opening loss to the Strikers. Against Heat, the Hurricanes played the near-perfect game with the bowlers setting things up, hitting consistent lines and lengths in a rain-shortened innings of 11 overs.
The chase was off to an absolute flier, but just when they were about to start the victory celebrations, they were defeated by mother nature. Hurricanes do have a few matchwinners in there, and while they might not be the most balanced of sides, they certainly enough firepower in the tank to upset even the strongest teams on their day. Despite not having won that previous game, they will be high on confidence as they look to gun down their first victory of the season. They should stick to the same XI with no changes expected barring last-minute injuries.
R Priest(wk), C Tryon, N Stalenberg, H Mathews, N Carey, C Hall(c), S Moloney, E Kershaw, A Smith, B Hepburn, B Vakarewa
Naomi Stalenberg, Brooke Hepburn, Erica Kershaw, Corinne Hall, Hayley Matthews, Amy Smith, Chloe Tryon, Nicola Carey, Belinda Vakarewa, Rachel Priest, Sasha Moloney
With a no-result in all their games so far, it won’t be wrong to say that the Stars’ biggest opponent is the weather more than their actual opposition. They’ve gotten very little game time, as have other teams, but Meg Lanning’s girls more so due to the heavy impact of the showers on their games. They are unlikely to make any changes because, let’s face it, there is no reason to drop those who have hardly got any time in the middle. Under their new signing-cum-skipper, there is a lot of promise for the Stars this season as they try to get a consistent campaign in place. However, with the weather as it is, they would need a lot of things to fall in place. A win for starters should help, and they do have the squad for it with some good signings pre-season. Most notable being the all-rounders in Natalie Sciver and Katherine Brunt who add so much value to the side. The duo’s efficiency should calm Lanning and allow her to ease into the role.
M Lanning(c), E Villani, N Sciver, M du Preez, A Sutherland, T Flintoff, E Osborne, K Brunt, N Faltum(wk), S Day, H Ferling
More and more rain is predicted for the weekend in Sydney. That means that the surface is likely to have a lot of moisture underneath. That’s likely to remain for a long period due to the lack of sun expected. Which makes for a lively surface with a bit in it for the seamers, especially with the new ball. It should slide onto the bat after that.
Another of Australia’s high-profile multi sport venue, Blacktown International Sportpark has been host to a variety of international sports. The drop-in surfaces allow for competitive games.
With the weather being so fickle, captains would want to chase after winning the toss. It’s a no-brainer as batting first could be very confusing due to a lot of reasons.
Both teams have quite strong and well-balanced but the Stars do have a bit more quality in their ranks, as well as experience. That should give them a headstart and although they are yet to get much gametime, they have also not got hurt as the Hurricanes did in their opening game. Still, the latter do have confidence from their previous game and will come hard in this fixture. However, the Stars have an edge in overall balance and that should help them seal a win in this game.
Melbourne Stars are favourites to win the match
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