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Melbourne Stars vs Sydney Thunder Predictions - Harper’s runs to fuel Stars’ fourth win

Simon Lewis

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Last updated: 1 hour ago

Simon Lewis 1 hour ago

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Sam Harper hit six sixes in his 60-ball 110* against the Sixers.
Sam Konstas has scored 116, 53, 28 & 63 in his last 5 innings.
Can the Melbourne Stars make it four wins on the trot by beating the Stars?

Sam Harper cuts against the Sixers (Getty Images).

Melbourne Stars vs Sydney Thunder Predictions

The Stars are dominating the Big Bash this season and are looking tough to beat. The Thunder had a poor start but will be buoyed by having finally picked up a win ahead of taking on the Stars.

Melbourne Stars’ Sam Harper has scored 54, 22, 55 & 110* in his last 5 innings.
Melbourne Stars’ Campbell Kellaway has scored 71, 41* & 28 in his last 4 innings.
Sydney Thunder’s Sam Konstas hit 8 fours in his 45-ball 63 against the Heat.
Sydney Thunder’s Matthew Gilkes hit 3 sixes in his 48-ball 76 against the Heat.

Head-to-Head

The Stars have lost their last five games against the Thunder.

Melbourne Stars Form

The Stars kept the good times rolling by racking up their third win in a row to make it three wins from three to take them to the top of the Big Bash table.

A superb bowling display restricted the Sixers to 144 off their 20 overs. Tom Curran (3/26, econ 6.50) and Peter Siddle (3/23, econ 5.75) were the destroyers-in-chief, with Marcus Stoinis (2/25, econ 6.25) taking the key wicket of Josh Philippe.

Sydney Thunder Form

The Thunder picked themselves up after two wins on the bounce to beat the Heat by 34 runs to get their first points on the board for the season.

Sam Konstas and Matthew Gilkes have batted well in two of their three matches in the series, while Shadab Khan (41 off 31 and 34 off 24), Cameron Bancroft (61 off 44) and Sam Billings (51 off 28) have also been in the runs.

Daniel Sams (2/25, econ 6.25) and Shadab Khan (4/24, econ 6.00) throttled the Heat’s top six to secure their side’s first win of the season. Khan also took 2/36 in their opener against the Hurricanes, while Reece Topley took 3/41 against the Sixers.

Melbourne Stars vs Sydney Thunder Team News

Stars’ batter Tom Rogers has recovered from a minor knock and will replace fast bowler Tom Whitney in the matchday squad to take on the Thunder.

Sydney Thunder coach Trevor Bayliss was upbeat after his side had picked up their first win of the season against the Heat. “It was an incredible start by both Gilkes and Konstas. They were both confident from the get-go and laid the platform for us to finish strong, which was our plan from the start. It’s important that we go out tomorrow night with that same attack, not just with the bat but also with the ball,” said Bayliss ahead of the clash with the Stars.

Melbourne Stars (match day squad): Marcus Stoinis (c), Hilton Cartwright, Joe Clarke, Tom Curran, Sam Harper, Liam Hatcher, Campbell Kellaway, Glenn Maxwell, Hamish McKenzie, Jono Merlo, Haris Rauf, Tom Rogers, Peter Siddle, Mitch Swepson.

Sydney Thunder (match day squad): David Warner (c), Cameron Bancroft, Sam ⁠Billings, Chris Green, Matt Gilkes, Ryan Hadley, Shadab Khan, Sam Konstas, Nathan McAndrew, Blake Nikitaras, Aidan O’Connor, Daniel Sams, Tanveer Sangha, Reece Topley.

Verdict

Melbourne Stars v Sydney Thunder

I am backing Melbourne Stars to win, with Sam Harper to top score.

Sam Harper

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