Last Updated on 4 years by Charbel Coorey
WBBL 2020 Match 1: PS-W vs BH-W Preview Dream11 Possible Playing 11 Pitch Report | PS-W vs BH-W Dream11 Prediction Today | Perth Scorchers Women vs Brisbane Heat Women | North Sydney Oval Pitch Report
Around the globe, cricket is slowly but steadily returning back to normalcy as the biggest T20 league in women’s cricket, the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) is all set to begin on Sunday, 25th October, with four matches on the very first day of the league.
The opening match will be played between the 2-time defending champions Brisbane Heat who will lock horns with the Perth Scorchers who finished at the 3rd place last season.
The Brisbane Heat team are chasing a hattrick of titles but this season they have their own set of challenges. The title winning skipper Kirby Short has retired and she will be replaced by Jess Jonassen at the helm. Among the key players, Sammy Jo-Johnson and Beth Mooney have left the franchise and will be playing for Sydney Thunder and Perth Scorchers respectively. Georgia Redmayne will be keeping for the defending champions this season as the gloves are up of grabs with Mooney’s departure.
On the other hand, the Perth Scorchers too have had significant number of changes in their line-up with the addition of Mooney and Sophie Devine strengthening the squad. They will be glad with wrist spinner Sarah Glenn’s arrival but they have lost Meg Lanning to the Melbourne Stars.
Key Players to Watch/Key Stats
- Sophie Devine, the leading run scorer of the last season of the WBBL, switched sides from Adelaide Strikers to the Perth Scorchers in the pre-season trade. Devine scored 769 runs at an average of 76 and striking at 130 in WBBL 05.
- Sarah Glenn, the English leg-spinner has picked 22 wickets in T20I career so far (15 games) and will be playing in the WBBL for the first time. She was roped in by the Perth Scorchers.
- Beth Mooney will ply her trade for the Perth Scorchers in the upcoming season and will face her former side in the first game itself. She was an integral part of the title win of the Heat in the last couple of seasons, and scored 743 runs in 2019.
- Grace Harris had a below par season in WBBL 05, with the bat as well as the ball, according to her standards but she will be looking to bounce back with a bang in this season. Her batting position will be an interesting point of discussion for the team.
- Jess Jonaseen took 18 wickets last season as she led the Heat to the title. The all-rounder can contribute with the bat and has already scored 1378 runs in her WBBL career. Also, Jonassen has taken 19 wickets in 14 T20Is in 2020.
- Amelia Kerr, the White ferns star, can be one of the key players for the Heat with bat and ball. The star all-rounder took nine wickets in her last five games against Australia a few weeks ago (ODIs and T20Is).
Stats and Facts
- Head-to-head: Matches 11, Brisbane Heat 6, Perth Scorchers 5.
- Brisbane Heat haven’t won batting first against the Perth Scorchers.
- Brisbane Heat have won four out of their last five encounters against the Perth Scorchers.
- The last time these two teams met at this venue was in 2018, when Heat chased down a paltry target of 104 with more than seven overs to spare.
Possible Playing 11
Perth Scorchers: 1. Beth Mooney, 2. Sophie Devine (c), 3. Nicole Bolton, 4. Chloe Piparo, 5. Amy Jones (wk), 6. Heather Graham, 7. Mathilda Carmichael, 8. Jemma Barsby, 9. Samantha Betts, 10. Emma King, 11. Sarah Glenn
Brisbane Heat: 1. Maddy Green, 2. Georgia Redmayne (wk), 3. Jess Jonassen (c), 4. Grace Harris, 5. Amelia Kerr, 6. Laura Harris, 7. Mikayla Hinkley, 8. Nadine de Klerk, 9. Delissa Kimmince, 10. Nicola Hancock, 11. Georgia Prestwidge
North Sydney Oval Pitch and Weather Report
North Sydney Oval is typically a nice batting ground, with a good pitch and short boundaries on offer. Given that the whole tournament will be played in one city (Sydney), the groundstaff could look at keeping some grass on the pitch to be able to handle the amount of traffic that will be on it in the coming weeks.
The average first innings score at this ground in WBBL 2019 was 143, with the chasing team winning three out of four times. Following the tournament, Australia played Sri Lanka in T20Is on this ground, with some high scores made (217 and 226 by Australia).
Dream11 Prediction
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Option 2:
Match Prediction
Brisbane Heat have performed well over the years vs Scorchers, but the addition of Beth Mooney and Sophie Devine in the Scorchers team makes them a dangerous team. If those two can fire and lead the way, Scorchers look good for a win.
Written by Sarthak Karkhanis. Follow Sarthak on Twitter today.
