Last Updated on 4 months by Charbel Coorey

SCO vs THU Dream11 Prediction & Fan2Play Possible Playing 11 Pitch Report: BBL 2021/22 Match 36 | SCO vs THU Dream11 Prediction Today | Scorchers vs Thunder Key Players | Carrara Oval Pitch Report

Amid further chaos as 12 Brisbane Heat players tested positive to COVID-19, the BBL continues to roll on as Cricket Australia vows to complete the tournament.

Sydney Thunder and Perth Scorchers will treat us to an interesting game late on Thursday evening Sydney time, provided the weather doesn’t play spoilsport in the Gold Coast. Both sides have had to adjust somewhat this season, with the Thunder facing their own COVID challenges on New Year’s Eve and Scorchers required to fill in two nights ago after positive cases emerged in the Heat camp.

Testament to the Scorchers’ quality, they beat the high-flying Sixers by 10 runs. Aaron Hardie stepped up with a brilliant batting display, while the bowlers withstood Dan Christian’s assault to seal victory. In fact, the Scorchers’ only loss so far this season was against the Thunder, where the men in green won by a handsome 34 runs back on December 28.

The Thunder, who sit in third place currently, will be aiming for a similar result. They welcome back Alex Hales who has completed his isolation period, as the team consistently has a player or two scoring big runs in any given match. Last game, it was Matthew Gilkes who scored 93 a match after Jason Sangha made a score in the 90s himself.

In this interesting matchup, which team finish with the upper hand, provided the weather holds up?

Key Players to Watch/Key Stats

Perth Scorchers:

• Colin Munro was the only top order player to provide resistance for the Scorchers against Thunder earlier this season (64* off 43 balls). He has scored 139 runs in three innings vs Thunder at an average of 69.50 and strike rate of 131.13.
• Munro is the second-highest run-scorer in BBL 11, with 335 runs in nine matches at an average of 55.83 and strike rate of 137.29.
• Cameron Bancroft has a fine record vs Thunder: 6 inns, 243 runs, avg. 81.00, SR 125.91.
• Kurtis Patterson has struck three half-centuries in six innings this season. He made a start last game vs Sixers (27 off 25 balls), and will be looking to build on this today.
• What a performance it was by Aaron Hardie vs Sixers. He smashed 45 off 24 balls to turn the game in his team’s favour. He could be key as a finisher once again.
• Matt Kelly is back after an isolation period. He was superb in his last match against Thunder earlier this season, taking 3/30 including the dismissals of openers Alex Hales and Matthew Gilkes.
• Andrew Tye is the leading wicket-taker in BBL 11 with 16 wickets in nine matches at an average of 13.43 and strike rate of 11. This includes a brilliant spell of 3/17 last game vs Sixers on this ground.
• Tye has 10 wickets in eight matches vs Thunder at an average of 21.50 and economy rate of 7.59. He will be looking to bounce back from a very expensive outing vs Thunder earlier this season (1/26 off 1.3 overs).
• Tymal Mills has taken two wickets per match this season (12 in six matches). This will be his final game of BBL 11.

Sydney Thunder:

• Alex Hales is back for the Thunder. He has been under-par so far this season by his lofty standards (100 runs, avg. 16.66), so it will be interesting to see how he fares today.
• Hales vs Scorchers: 5 innings, 150 runs, avg. 30.00, SR 138.89. He scored just 13 against them earlier this season.
• Matthew Gilkes is coming off an impressive 93 off 57 balls vs Adelaide Strikers. He has a half-century in two matches against the Scorchers.
• Jason Sangha missed out in his last game (6 vs Strikers), but he is enjoying a wonderful season to date (5 inns, 239 runs, avg. 79.66, SR 142.26). This includes 56* off 46 balls vs Scorchers.
• Sam Billings was outstanding vs Scorchers earlier this season. He was awarded player of the match for his brilliant 67 off 35 balls.
• Daniel Sams has taken just three wickets in six games vs Scorchers (avg. 60.33), but he bowled nicely against them earlier in BBL 11 (1/30). The left-armer has two wickets in as many matches on this ground.
• Saqib Mahmood has taken 11 wickets in five matches this season, including 2/29 vs Scorchers. Like Billings, this will be Saqib’s final match of BBL 11 before departing for the UK.

Stats and Facts

• Head-to-head: Matches 14, Scorchers 7, Thunder 7.
• Thunder (200/7) beat Scorchers (166/8) by 34 runs earlier this season. This remains the Scorchers’ only loss so far in BBL 11.
• Jason Behrendhorff has the most wickets in Scorchers-Thunder matches with 13 scalps in nine innings (avg. 19.38, econ. 7.41).

Possible Playing 11

Alex Hales is back in the Sydney Thunder squad. Alex Ross, Tanveer Sangha and Sam Whiteman will complete their isolation periods on January 7.

Muhammad Hasnain, who took three wickets in his debut match, is unavailable due to Queensland’s border restrictions on recent international arrivals.

Also, this will be Sam Billings and Saqib Mahmood’s final match before flying back to the UK before England’s T20I series in West Indies later this month.

Sydney Thunder: 1. Alex Hales, 2. Matthew Gilkes, 3. Jason Sangha, 4. Sam Billings (wk), 5. Oliver Davies, 6. Daniel Sams, 7. Ben Cutting, 8. Nathan McAndrew, 9. Chris Green (c), 10. Saqib Mahmood, 11. Gurinder Sandhu

Perth Scorchers have also named their squad. Tymal Mills will also play his final game of BBL 11 before flying out ahead of the England’s T20I tour. Also, Matt Kelly is back in the squad after isolation.

Perth Scorchers: 1. Kurtis Patterson, 2. Cameron Bancroft (wk), 3. Colin Munro, 4. Laurie Evans, 5. Ashton Turner (c), 6. Aaron Hardie, 7. Ashton Agar, 8. Andrew Tye, 9. Peter Hatzoglou, 10. Lance Morris/Matt Kelly/Jason Behrendhorff, 11. Tymal Mills

Carrara Oval Pitch Report and Weather

Unfortunately, the weather forecast looks horrible in the Gold Coast on Thursday. Anywhere between 30-50mm of rain is expected.

The Carrara Oval surface for the Sixers-Scorchers game two days ago had something in it for the bowlers. However, as Aaron Hardie and Dan Christian showed, big hitting is more than possible on this ground.

Scorchers defended 143 vs Sixers a couple of days ago. Heat chased Renegades’ 140 with ease earlier this season. If there is to be a result in this game, expect it to happen in a shortened game.

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: Sam Billings
• Batsmen: Colin Munro, Kurtis Patterson, Jason Sangha
• All-rounders: Daniel Sams
• Bowlers: Andrew Tye, Saqib Mahmood, Tymal Mills

Match Prediction

If there is a result, the chasing team is often the side best placed to win a shortened match.