Last Updated on 3 months by Charbel Coorey

READ: New MS vs PS Preview Dream11, Saturday 18th January 2020

Wednesday evening in Perth is one to look forward to. Two in-form teams go head-to-head in an important game for the home team, as they look to nail down a top five spot.

However, it is as if playing the red-hot Stars isn’t difficult enough for Perth Scorchers. Their schedule has been unforgiving in terms of travel. Since their last loss four games and 10 days ago at home, they have traveled from Perth to Geelong, from Geelong back to Perth, then from Perth to Hobart. Now, two days after their last game, they are back in Perth.

As challenging as that is, they will have to find a way to be on their game vs Melbourne Stars. Led by the red-hot Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis, the Stars have enjoyed six straight victories, and are now the red-hot favourites to take out the BBL09 Title.

However, this game could be a test for the Stars and it will be interesting to see how they respond.

Key Players to Watch/Key Stats

• Marcus Stoinis is coming off the highest score in BBL history (147).
• Stoinis is 131 runs ahead of the next highest run-scorer in BBL09 (Mitch Marsh).
• Marsh has been strong in this tournament (347 runs). His scores in Perth this season are impressive: 56* (22), 17 (13), 48 (36), 93* (43).
• Glenn Maxwell has not been dismissed in any of his past four innings: 40* (32), 59* (37), 83* (45), 5* (2).
• Stoinis (49 off 40) and Maxwell (61 off 40) performed well on this ground last season.
• Josh Inglis has been fantastic for the Scorchers this season. He is ninth in the BBL09 run-scoring list with 275, and is coming off a man-of-the-match performance in Hobart (73 off 46 balls).
• Inglis’ last three scores: 51, 28, 73.
• Hilton Cartwright will be looking to make the opening position his own. He has scored 35 and 59 in his past two matches.
• Cameron Bancroft vs Stars last season: 44* (27) and 59 (42). However, it remains to be seen where he bats in the Scorchers’ order today.
• Which Liam Livingstone will show up today? He has failed more often than not in BBL09, but has scores of 59 and 35 in his last three knocks. Also, he is capable of taking wickets with the ball.
• Haris Rauf has taken one wicket in each of his past two games. But, he still has an incredible 15 wickets in six matches in BBL09.
• Jhye Richardson has burst into form in recent weeks. He has taken 12 wickets in his past seven games, including nine in the last three. The Stars’ batting will be a greater challenge, but his form is strong.
• Daniel Worrall has nine wickets in five games vs Scorchers. One to watch?
• Fawad Ahmed has taken at least one wicket in all but two games in BBL09. Also, he has taken at least one wicket in every match in Perth so far this season. His opponent, Sandeep Lamichhane, has six wickets in his past four games.
• Nathan Coulter-Nile returns for this match, at a ground he is familiar with.

READ: New MS vs PS Preview Dream11, Saturday 18th January 2020

Possible Playing 11

Perth Scorchers have made one change to their 13-man squad. Local replacement player Jaron Morgan comes in, but the Scorchers could stick with the same winning XI from the last game.

Perth Scorchers: 1. Josh Inglis (wk), 2. Liam Livingstone, 3. Sam Whiteman, 4. Mitchell Marsh (c), 5. Cameron Bancroft, 6. Tim David, 7. Cameron Green, 8. Chris Jordan, 9. Jhye Richardson, 10. Joel Paris, 11. Fawad Ahmed

Melbourne Stars have also made one change to their 13-man squad. Nathan Coulter-Nile is back after being rested in the last match, and should replace Lance Morris in the XI.

Melbourne Stars: 1. Marcus Stoinis, 2. Hilton Cartwright, 3. Ben Dunk, 4. Nick Larkin, 5. Glenn Maxwell (c), 6. Seb Gotch (wk), 7. Nathan Coulter-Nile, 8. Clint Hinchliffe, 9. Haris Rauf, 10. Daniel Worrall, 11. Sandeep Lamichhane

Optus Stadium Pitch Report and Conditions

Perth has played host to high-scoring games in BBL09: 196 vs 185, 174 vs 126, 180 vs 172 and 213 v 179. The pitch allows batsmen to hit freely through the line thanks to nice, even pace.

The weather forecast for Wednesday in Perth is hot (35 degrees) and no rain.

Dream11 Prediction

Updated teams: pick Jackson Coleman over Hinchliffe.

READ: New MS vs PS Preview Dream11, Saturday 18th January 2020

Option 1:

Option 2:

Also read: Dream11 content for you to enjoy on CricBlog:

• 6 tips to increase chances of winning in Dream11
• MyTeam11 vs Dream11: Which is better for you?
• Pros and cons of Dream11’s deadline decision

Match Prediction

On paper, this promises to be an exciting game.

However, it remains to be seen how the Scorchers recover from such significant travel over the past week. The Stars look in terrific form, and will be very hard to beat in this one. Stars to win.

Thanks for reading!