Big Bash League: Stars, Strikers to fight it out for final SF berth

Adrian Meredith January 19, 2012 0

Big Bash League: Stars, Strikers to fight it out for final SF berth

MELBOURNE: The last match of the Big Bash League’s preliminary rounds is due to be played tonight, between Melbourne Stars and Adelaide Strikers.

As it stands, the top 3 are set in stone. All have 5 wins and 2 losses and are separated by net run rate.

Perth Scorchers have finished top, in spite of losing their final preliminary match to Sydney Sixers.

Hobart Hurricanes finish second while Sydney Sixers have finished in third spot. None of these teams will be affected by the result of tonight’s match.

The fourth and final spot in the semi finals is still up for grabs and it is out of Brisbane Heat, Melbourne Stars and Adelaide Strikers as to who can make it.

Melbourne Renegades and Sydney Thunder are both out of finals contention and will not qualify.

For Melbourne Stars the situation is simple. They need to beat Adelaide Strikers in their final match in order to qualify. If they lose, they will miss out. If the match is washed out, they will qualify too.

They can’t finish higher than 4th and if they do win they will be facing Perth Scorchers in the semi finals. Margin is irrelevant. They just need to win.

For Adelaide Strikers it is a lot tougher. While a loss will see them eliminated, even a victory isn’t enough to see them qualify. They need to win by enough to overtake Brisbane Heat.

The margin will undoubtedly be calculated mid match but by my estimations it would need to be a 70 or 80 run victory, or with 7 or 8 overs to spare, or thereabouts. This seems improbable but Brisbane Heat managed to win their last match, against Sydney Thunder, by over 90 runs, so it is very much possible.

Brisbane Heat are currently in 4th spot and will qualify if Adelaide Strikers win narrowly. They will be cheering for Adelaide but hoping that it is close. If Adelaide win but not by enough to overtake Brisbane’s net run rate, then Brisbane qualify. You may see Brisbane supporters cheering for Adelaide early then switch to cheer for Melbourne if Adelaide get too far ahead.

If this were scripted, it would be the perfect script. Heading into the final match of the preliminary round, we still don’t know who will make the semi finals, with 3 teams in with a chance. Heading into the final round of the preliminaries, all 8 teams had a chance of making the semi finals. And one of those teams, Brisbane Heat, took up the challenge and won by enough to make it interesting.

Tonight’s match between Melbourne Stars and Adelaide Strikers sure looks an exciting prospect.