Melbourne Stars Women vs Brisbane Heat Women, WOMENS BIG BASH LEAGUE 2019-20, Today Match Prediction

mlsw vs bhw Match Prediction & Analysis

A win to go to the top of the table with a match against bottom-placed Melbourne Stars as their next match- Brisbane Heat couldn’t have asked for more motivation while coming into this fixture. Furthermore, Brisbane also beat the much-vaunted Sydney Sixers in their last match. It was also their second one-sided victory against the Sixers and that says something about the defending champions' quality.

Beth Mooney has almost single-handedly carried the batting line-up while it has been an incredibly good all-round effort from the bowlers. As far as the Melbourne Stars are concerned, it has been a forgettable campaign to say the least. With just two points in seven games, their tournament is all but over.

While the likes of Lizelle Lee, Mignon du Preez and Elyse Villani have done well with the bat, their problems with the ball have been publicized quite a bit. There is not a lack of talent as the likes of Holly Ferling, Kristen Beams and Anna Sutherland have a lot of ability but it has not come out right this season at all.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Melbourne Stars Women Preview

Melbourne Stars have three batswomen who have scored with a lot of consistency and still find themselves in a rut. In total, Elyse Villani (150 runs), Lizelle Lee (291 runs) and Mignon du Preez (173 runs) have scored 5 fifties and century as a combination. It has been only wicket-keeper batswoman Katey Martin who has disappointed one and all with her run-scoring.

With the ball, Melbourne has been highly disappointing as they have failed to take wickets and also conceded runs at a high economy rate. The team has suffered in the absence of a star overseas bowler as players like Erin Osborne and Kristen Beams have had to handle a pretty inexperienced bowling line-up.

Melbourne Stars Women Predicted Playing XI:

Elyse Villani (C), Lizelle Lee, Mignon du Preez, Erin Osborne, Katey Martin (WK), Anna Sutherland, Madeline Penna, Tess Flintoff, Nicola Hancock, Holly Ferling, Kristen Beams.

Melbourne Stars Women Actual Playing XI:

Mignon du Preez, Erin Osborne, Holly Ferling, Lizelle Lee, Nicola Hancock, Alana King, Maddie Penna, Elyse Villani, Tess Flintoff, Annabel Sutherland, Katey Martin

Brisbane Heat Women Preview

It is difficult to talk about Brisbane Heat and not mention Beth Mooney. That is how important she has been for her team thus far. Even during times when the pitch has played tricky, Beth Mooney has taken responsibility and scored a truckload of runs. Contributions from her team-mates have been scarce though. Only Jess Jonassen and Grace Harris have managed to cross 100 runs in the tournament and even they have been highly inconsistent.

At the same time, Brisbane Heat has six bowlers who have picked up more than 4 or more wickets at this point of time. While it was only Amelia Kerr who gave a cutting edge to the Heat's bowling attack, a pivotal cog in Delissa Kimmince has also shown signs of coming back to her best. Apart from these two, bowlers like Jess Jonassen and Sammy Jo-Johnson provide the requisite variety.

Brisbane Heat Women Predicted Playing XI:

Beth Mooney (WK), Maddy Green, Jess Jonassen, Grace Harris , Laura Harris, Kirby Short (C), Amelia Kerr, Delissa Kimmince, Sammy Jo-Johnson, Mikayla Hinkley, Georgia Prestwidge.

Brisbane Heat Women Actual Playing XI:

Grace Harris, Courtney Sippel, Beth Mooney, Mikayla Hinkley, Kirby Short, Jess Jonassen, Maddy Green, Amelia Kerr, Sammy Jo Johnson, Laura Harris, Delissa Kimmince

Weather Conditions

The pitch at the Junction Oval has always been true in its nature and aided free strokeplay. However, with games coming thick and fast, the tracks might start to provide more and more assistance to spinners and variations. Meanwhile, the weather forecast is not great for this region as there is a huge 70% chance of rain.

Venue Details

Located in Melbourne, the Junction Oval also hosts football games time to time. It has a capacity of 8000 and the Victoria team regards it as their home venue in domestic games. Only one international game has been staged here - an ODI between Australia Women and New Zealand Women that had seen a score of 233 being chased down.

Toss: To Bowl

Rain could be the deciding factor here. If rain doesn’t intervene, the toss winning captain might chose to bat but if there is any threat of rain, fielding first might be the ideal option due to the advantages that the D/L method provides.