Sydney Sixers v Brisbane Heat Big Bash Tips: Heat cooler than price suggests

• North Sydney Oval pitch tricky to call

• Jordan could return for Sixers

• Hosts a bet in-play

Sydney Sixers v Brisbane Heat
Wednesday 4 January, 07:05
TV: Live on Sky Sports

Team news

Sixers are smarting. They were beaten by 15 runs by Heat last time out in a run fest. And they will have felt they should have got up to chase 225.

Chris Jordan is expected to come back into the XI to offer death support, possibly at the expense of Jackson Bird with spinner Izharulhaq holding on. Steve O'Keefe may return to the squad, too. Opener Kurtis Patterson missed the Heat loss.

Possible XI: Philippe, Vince, Hughes, Henriques, Silk, Christian, Kerr, Abbott, Jordan, Dwarshuis, Izharulhaq

Heat made significant team changes and it paid off. In came Nathan McSweeney and Josh Brown and they produced scintillating knocks. Particularly Brown. The 29-year-old in only his second T20 managed a knock from nowhere.

Brown has the opening gig for the rest of the tournament after 62 off 23. That takes the pressure off Colin Munro and Sam Billings. Matt Renshaw is unavailable.

Probable XI: Munro, Brown, McSweeney, Billings, Peirson, Bazley, Whiteey, neser, Steketee, Kuhnemann, Swepson

Pitch report

There have only been women's T20 matches played at the Oval so we have to be cautious. The run rate records are decent and four of the last eight first digs have seen scores of more than 160. That suggests the wicket is flat and boundaries tight.

More than 170 should be the aim. Hwever, given the run fest that these two have just gorged on, the par line may overreact and the shrewdies will probably short Heat batting first.

How to play

Sixers are 1.715/7 with Heat 2.305/4. The market seems a little spooked by Sixers being upset. Ordinarily we'd expect the home team to be in the 1.608/13 region for this fixture.

It does seem an odd thing to say about a 2.305/4 shot but, Heat are probably overrated at the odds. They've shown very little so far in this competition and the price about the Sixers will be one for big hitters.

Sixers have won 13 from 16 on the head-to-head and ten of those (with one loss) have come batting second. We'd back them to chase big here if they had to.

Tops value

Brown gets a 7/2 quote from Sportsbook to top score for Heat. Munro has been price-boosted to 11/4, the same 'up' as Josh Philippe, Sixers' opener. James Vince has moved up alongside and is 3/1. Dan Christian is forever underrated at 17/1 from the No 6 position for the home team.