Team news, key match-ups, TV and streaming information, weather forecast, odds, form rundown, umpire appointments, start times, venue and squad lists for the 14th game of BBL11
Brisbane Heat take on Sydney Thunder in the 14th game of the 2021-22 Big Bash.
The game is set for Sunday, December 19. The first ball will be bowled at 5:40pm local time (8:40am GMT).
The game will be held at the Gabba in Brisbane.
Sydney Thunder got their BBL11 campaign off to a winning start, comfortably defeating Brisbane Heat by seven wickets in Canberra. Since then, however, they have been on the receiving end of back-to-back defeats against Melbourne Stars - the first a narrow four-run defeat, the second a convincing six-wicket defeat as Stars allrounder Andre Russell wreaked havoc with the bat.
Brisbane Heat followed up their defeat against Thunder with a six-run loss against Perth Scorchers before finally getting a win on the board against Melbourne Renegades. Thanks to economical spells from Liam Guthrie (1 for 10) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (0 for 19) and a three-for from James Bazley, the Heat restricted the Renegades to 140 for 6 before chasing down their target with 19 balls and five wickets to spare. Chris Lynn scored a rapid 15-ball 32 while Sam Heazlett top-scored with 44 not out off 29 balls.
In short, one side looking to get back to winning ways, the other hoping to build on winning momentum.
James Bazley [Chris Hyde/Getty Images]
Chris Lynn made a welcome return to form with the bat for the Heat against the Renegades. Having started the tournament with a nine and a 33-ball 27, he blasted 32 runs off 15 balls to help his side finish the four-over powerplay with 46 runs on the board. With a career T20 strike rate of 142.65, this is an ominous sign for Thunder's bowlers.
With the ball, Mujeeb is once again showcasing his miserly skills. In 12 overs, the Afghanistan international has conceded just 67 runs and has been improving with every match, conceding 25 runs, 23 runs (1 wicket) and, most recently, 19 runs.
Thunder's bowling attack is expected to be boosted by the arrival of Saqib Mahmood. The fast bowler, who has been in quarantine for Thunder's opening three matches, brings raw pace to the party and has 59 T20 wickets from 48 appearances.
However, the key player for Sydney Thunder this season is Alex Ross. The 29-year-old is yet to be dismissed in BBL11, posting unbeaten knocks of 61, 17 and 77, and is scoring at a strike rate of 146.22. So far, he is the only Thunder batter to pass 100 runs and a big knock from him will go a long way towards sealing a much-needed win.
Darren Close and Donovan Koch are the men in the middle for this one.
A hot day at the Gabba with temperatures expected to peak around 26 degrees celsius.
Brisbane Heat: Tom Abell, Xavier Bartlett, James Bazley, Max Bryant, Tom Cooper, Ben Duckett, Liam Guthrie, Sam Heazlett, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne (Nathan McSweeney), Chris Lynn, Michael Neser (Cameron Gannon), Jimmy Pierson, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Will Prestwidge, Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson (Hugo Burdon), Jack Wildermuth
Sydney Thunder: Sam Billings, Jonathan Cook, Ben Cutting, Oliver Davies, Brendan Doggett, Matt Gilkes, Chris Green, Alex Hales, Baxter Holt, Usman Khawaja, Saqib Mahmood, Nathan McAndrew, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Gurinder Sandhu, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, Chris Tremain
Alex Ross [Matt King/Getty Images]
Brisbane Heat: Max Bryant, Chris Lynn, Ben Duckett, Sam Heazlett, Tom Abell, Jimmy Peirson, James Bazley, Xavier Bartlett, Mitchell Swepson, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mark Steketee
Sydney Thunder: Alex Hales, Matthew Gilkes, Sam Billings, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Ben Cutting, Nathan McAndrew, Chris Green, Saqib Mahmood, Gurinder Sandhu, Tanveer Sangha
Sydney Thunder are the narrow favourites to win this match, with Oddschecker offering odds of 4/5. Brisbane Heat are available at 11/10.
The arrival of Saqib Mahmood into Thunder's bowling attack is a huge boost and if Alex Ross can continue his good form with the bat, they might just get that second win on the board.
Sky Sports have bought the rights for the competition through to 2025, and they will broadcast all 61 games in the UK.
Fox Sports and Seven Network both have television rights in Australia: subscription broadcaster Fox show every game, while free-to-air Seven will simulcast 45 matches.
BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra will have ball-by-ball radio coverage of the tournament for UK listeners.
Where can I watch the competition elsewhere in the world?
North America: Willow
MENA: beIN Sports
Sub Saharan Africa: SuperSport
Indian Subcontinent: Sony
New Zealand: Sky Sport
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