Last Updated on 4 months by Charbel Coorey

HEA vs STR Dream11 Prediction & Fan2Play Possible Playing 11 Pitch Report: BBL 2021/22 Match 46 | HEA vs STR Dream11 Prediction Today | Heat vs Strikers Key Players | Gabba Pitch Report

After lots of chaos and adjusting due to COVID-19, BBL 11 moves towards the home stretch as the race for the top five heats up.

Brisbane Heat return home to the Gabba and welcome back nine players who have completed their COVID-19 isolation periods. Unfortunately for the Heat, they had to play two matches after 12 of their players tested positive for the virus, losing both to put further brakes on their season.

However, fortunately for the Heat, the form of the Adelaide Strikers and Renegades in particular leaves the Heat in fifth place. The Strikers continue to disappoint more often than not, but incredibly, with just two wins from 10 games so far, the Strikers will move into the top five with a victory today. Their Bash Boost points along the way has kept them in the hunt, but one thing is for certain – they must produce better than what they have been to date.

Key Players to Watch/Key Stats

Brisbane Heat:

• Chris Lynn is back on deck. Will he make an impact right away? He has a terrible record against the Strikers, with 224 runs in 14 innings at an average of 16.00 and strike rate of 130.99. Also, he is averaging just 19.25 overall this season.
• However, no player comes close to Lynn with regards to T20 runs at the Gabba. He is the only player with at least 1,000 runs on this ground, achieved at an average of 35.00 and strike rate of 166.20.
• Ben Duckett was player of the match against Strikers earlier this season. The English left-hander struck a brilliant 78 off 47 balls to lead the Heat to 208/7 at Adelaide Oval.
• Sam Heazlett has struck just 46 runs in his last four innings. But, today could be the day he returns to form as he played nicely vs Strikers earlier in BBL 11: 49 off 30 balls.
• Mark Steketee is an important player for the Heat. He took 10 wickets in five matches in BBL 11 before testing positive for COVID-19, including 3/27 vs Strikers.
• Overall, Steketee has taken 12 wickets in nine matches vs Strikers at an average of 21.25 and economy rate of 8.18. Also, Steketee has the most wickets of any bowler at the Gabba (41 wickets, avg. 22.02, SR 14.85).
• Xavier Bartlett is the Heat’s leading wicket-taker this season with 11 scalps in six matches. He has been impressive in this campaign, and comes up against a franchise against whom he has four wickets in three matches (avg. 15.75, econ. 7.00).

Adelaide Strikers:

• Matt Short has been a shining light in Adelaide’s disappointing campaign to date. His 265 runs this season have come at an excellent strike rate of 158.68, and he will be aiming to improve on his record vs Brisbane Heat (4 inns, 50 runs, avg. 12.50).
• Jono Wells is the Strikers’ leading run-scorer this season. The experienced right-hander has 280 runs to his name in 10 innings at an average of 28.00 and strike rate of 130.84.
• Wells has a solid record vs Heat since 2017 (7 inns, 186 runs, avg. 37.20, SR 114.11), which includes a 41-ball 55 against them earlier this season. He also has similar numbers in his career at the Gabba (9 inns, 222 runs, avg. 37.00, SR 118.72).
• The Strikers desperately need more from Jake Weatherald. The out-of-form left-hander is averaging just 17 this season, and averages 22.11 in 10 matches vs Heat. Can he turn these numbers around?
• Strikers will be well-served playing Wes Agar, if he is available. He has 10 wickets in five matches vs Heat, including 2/39 earlier this season.
• Rashid Khan has an excellent record vs Heat, with 13 wickets in seven matches at an average of 13.62 and economy rate of 6.32. Also, he takes two wickets per match on average at the Gabba (six wickets in three games).
• Peter Siddle, who recently took five wickets vs Hurricanes, has 12 wickets in nine matches vs Heat since 2017 (avg. 16.17, econ. 7.61).

Stats and Facts

• Head-to-head: Matches 15, Heat 7, Strikers 8.
• Strikers have a great record at the Gabba, winning five of their seven matches vs Heat on this ground.
• Heat (208/7) smashed Strikers (169/8) earlier this season.

Possible Playing 11

Brisbane Heat will welcome back nine of the 12 players who were in isolation for COVID-19.

Xavier Bartlett, Max Bryant, Ben Duckett, Liam Guthrie, Matthew Kuhnemann, Chris Lynn, Nathan McSweeney, Mark Steketee and Jack Wildermuth are all available, according to the official squad.

Fakhar Zaman is unavailable for this match due to Queensland’s border restrictions for people who have been in Australia for less than 14 days.

Brisbane Heat: 1. Chris Lynn, 2. Max Bryant, 3. Lachlan Pfeffer/Jake Lehmann, 4. Ben Duckett (wk), 5. Sam Heazlett, 6. Tom Cooper (c), 7. Xavier Bartlett, 8. Mark Steketee, 9. Matt Kuhnemann, 10. Liam Guthrie/Nathan McSweeney, 11. Mujeeb ur Rahman

At the time of writing, Adelaide Strikers were yet to announce their official squad for this match. Matt Renshaw will be out due to COVID-19.

Also, the Strikers may replace a batsman like Ryan Gibson for an extra bowling option.

Adelaide Strikers: 1. Matt Short, 2. Henry Hunt, 3. Jake Weatherald, 4. Jono Wells, 5. Thomas Kelly, 6. Harry Nielsen (wk), 7. Ryan Gibson/Wes Agar, 8. Rashid Khan, 9. Peter Siddle (c), 10. Harry Conway, 11. Fawad Ahmed

Gabba Pitch Report and Weather

Conditions should be mostly clear for this match in Brisbane. There have been some big totals at the Gabba this season, indicating a very good batting surface.

Sydney Thunder scored 196 last month, followed by Melbourne Stars’ huge 207. Last game, Ben McDermott smashed 93 off 61 balls to lead the Hurricanes to a win against a weakened Heat team.

Dream11 Prediction

Note: The below teams are not based on the final playing XIs. We may not be able to update these in time.

Option 1:

Option 2:

Fan2Play Prediction

Base team:

• Wicket-keepers: Ben Duckett
• Batsmen: Jono Wells, Sam Heazlett
• All-rounders: Matt Short
• Bowlers: Peter Siddle, Rashid Khan, Mark Steketee, Xavier Bartlett

Match Prediction

Unpredictable match between two unpredictable teams. Strikers have a good record at the Gabba, and that could count for plenty here against a Heat side still finding its feet after COVID. Strikers to win.