Jaw dropping sixes and quick-fire wickets? Say no more – this year’s installment of the Big Bash has more bang for your buck than ever before.
The domestic series will be played a little differently this season with each team squaring off not once, but twice. With less than a week ’till the first ball is bowled at The Gabba, the odds also remain razor tight in the Ladbrokes betting market.
Up first, the defending champion Adelaide Strikers, a team that enjoyed a fairy-tale run right through to their commanding Finals win over the Hobart Hurricanes earlier in February.
So can Adelaide dust off the bats and become only the second back-to-back Big Bash champions?
We’ve analysed everything you need to know heading into the season, and our 2018/19 Adelaide Strikers Preview can be seen below.
2018/19 Adelaide Strikers Big Bash Odds
2018/19 Adelaide Strikers Squad
- Alex Carey
- Ben Laughlin
- Billy Stanlake
- Cameron Valente
- Colin Ingram
- David Grant
- Jake Lehmann
- Jake Weatherald
- Jonathan Wells
- Liam O’Connor
- Matt Short
- Michael Neser
- Nick Winter
- Peter Siddle
- Rashid Khan
- Travis Head (c)
- Wes Agar
Past & Present
- 2017 Finish: Champions
- 2018 Predicted Finish: Runner-up
2017/18 Betting Statistics
- Overall Record: 7-3
- Home: 4-0
- Away: 3-3
- Favourites: 3-1
- Underdogs: 2-0
Analysis
The finals monkey is now off their back, and a year on from winning their first ever Big Bash title the Strikers still look to be one of the most complete sides.
It’s a relatively unchanged squad from the one that defeated the Hurricanes by 25-runs in front of the South Australian faithful last year. The Adelaide Oval lends itself to high-scoring games – good news considering Alex Carey and in-form Test batsman Travis Head occupy the top of the order.
Aside from the two crowd favourites, 24-year old Jake Weatherald will be the one to watch. Last time we saw him in a Strikers uniform he smacked 115-runs off 70 balls, taking his career T20 tally to 500.
The market doesn’t lie, the Strikers are among the favourites for a reason. There’s a great mix of young and old in the line up, which includes crowd favourite, Peter Siddle.
Best Bet: Top Tournament Wicket-Taker – Rashid Khan @ $10.00
On the other side of the ball the Strikers are blessed by the bowling brilliance of Rashid Khan. As one of only two internationals on the team, Khan returns to the side after taking some absolute pearlers during his Big Bash debut last year.
At just 20-years old the Afghan allowed an average of only 5.65 runs an over, which in turn helped him claim 18 wickets. As a leg-spinner, Khan bowls an excellent wrong-un that has helped him firm into favourtism in the Top Tournament Wicket-Taker market. As a whole Adelaide feature perhaps the best bowling attack in the competition, and you can expect to see Khan leading the charge again this year.