Key match-ups, analysis, form, team news, weather forecast, tickets, TV and streaming information, odds, predictions and more ahead of the latest encounter in the 2022/23 Big Bash
Sydney Thunder take on Brisbane Heat in the Eliminator in the 2022/23 Big Bash, the 12th edition of the tournament.
The game is scheduled to start at 7:15pm local time (8:15am GMT) on Friday, January 27.
The game will be played in Sydney at the Sydney Showground.
Sydney Thunder held their nerve in the final group match against Melbourne Stars to win by three wickets and sneak into the playoffs in fourth place.
Thunder finished with seven wins and seven losses from their 14 games, leaving them on 14 points. Though they come into the game with a win, Thunder have not been very convincing of late, winning just two of their last six matches.
Brisbane Heat ended the main tournament with a point fewer than Thunder with 13 points, having picked up six wins, seven losses and one no result.
Thunder's batters have largely struggled to record big scores recently, failing to pass 135 in their last three innings batting first. Matthew Gilkes has been the most in-form batter for Thunder, with 95 runs in his last three matches, including 74 off 55 balls against Melbourne Renegades.
Heat have been particularly good with the ball throughout the season, keeping the opposition to a run rate of 7.5 per over in the last five. Michael Neser is the dangerman with the ball, taking 11 wickets in his last four matches.
Michael Neser has been deadly with the ball (Getty Images)
David Warner's lack of form has compounded Thunder's batting problems while Heat have impressed with the ball.
The key for Heat will be to pick up early wickets of Warner and Matthew Gilkes to get into a struggling middle order as soon as they can. Only Sean Abbott and Andrew Tye collected more than Neser's 22 wickets during the regular season, while James Bazley, Matthew Kuhnemann and Mark Steketee have all hit double figures.
There are light showers forecast throughout the day though it is expected to cloud over in the afternoon and evening, with temperatures of around 25 degrees Celsius.
Jason Sangha returned from injury last time out for Thunder in the victory over Stars, which is a huge boost for them. Thunder may tinker with the batting lineup due to recent struggles, but Warner and Gilkes should open.
Heat have picked the same side for the last six games in a row and have no fresh injury concerns.
Sydney Thunder: Oliver Davies, Brendan Doggett, Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Alex Hales, Baxter Holt, Nathan McAndrew, Alex Ross, Rilee Rossouw, Daniel Sams, Jason Sangha (c), Tanveer Sangha, David Warner, David Willey (withdrawn), Fazalhaq Farooqi (replacing David Willey, contract terminated on December 23), Ben Cutting, Usman Qadir, Gurinder Sandhu, Sam Whiteman, Joel Davies
Brisbane Heat: Xavier Bartlett, James Bazley, Sam Billings, Max Bryant, Sam Hain, Sam Heazlett, Usman Khawaja, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Colin Munro, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson, Ross Whiteley, Jack Wildermuth, Spencer Johnson, Will Prestwidge, Josh Brown
*Squads are for the whole BBL and not specific to this match
Sydney Thunder: Matthew Gilkes, David Warner, Jason Sangha, Oliver Davies, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Ben Cutting, Nathan McAndrew, Chris Green, Gurinder Sandhu, Usman Qadir
Brisbane Heat: Usman Khawaja, Josh Brown, Marnus Labuschagne, Matt Renshaw, Sam Hain, Jimmy Peirson, Michael Neser, James Bazley, Matthew Kuhnemann, Spencer Johnson, Mitchell Swepson
Can David Warner find some form? [Getty Images]
Thunder are slight favourites to win with odds of 4/5 with Paddy Power. Heat are slight underdogs with odds of evens.
If Thunder's premier batters come to the party then they should have too much for Heat.
Tickets are available via Ticketmaster, with adult tickets starting from around $23.
Sky Sports hold the UK rights for the BBL, with coverage split between Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Mix.
Ball-by-ball radio commentary will also be available via BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and BBC Sounds for selected matches.
Fox Sports and Seven Network both have television rights in Australia while coverage will also be available via streaming service Kayo. Fox will show every game while 45 matches, including the knockout stages, will be shown free-to-air on Channel Seven.
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