Melbourne Stars v Brisbane Heat betting preview & tips | BBL14

Stars v Heat best bets

Stars v Heat match preview

The Brisbane Heat will kick off their Big Bash League title defence at the MCG when they clash with the Melbourne Stars on Wednesday night.

The Heat will be without all-rounder Michael Neser for the first month of the BBL, while star left-arm quick Spencer Johnson is very unlikely to suit up for the opening match, having suffered a toe injury in South Australia’s most recent Sheffield Shield clash against Tasmania.

The Heat are rated as the third favourite at $7 with top cricket betting sites, and they will be seeking to get their BBL14 campaign off to a good start with victory over the Stars.

In the opening match of BBL14, the Stars were convincingly beaten by the Perth Scorchers on Sunday. The Victoria-based outfit could only manage 9/146 in 20 overs, a total that the Scorchers chased down with relative ease to claim a six-wicket victory with 17 balls remaining.

In what was a grim-looking scorecard, Tom Curran joint-top scored for the Stars with 37 and was also the pick of the bowlers, finishing with 1/25 off his four overs.

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Stars vs Heat BBL predictions

The Stars come into this clash at a slight advantage after playing their opening match of BBL14, which allowed the team to blow out some cobwebs. If the Stars can get out of the blocks a bit better this time, the +110 with Neds looks like a great price for the underdogs to win at home.

The Heat were unable to retain Josh Brown, who was their top runscorer last season, and that leaves their batting lineup quite thin — especially with the likes of Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and Nathan McSweeney away on international duty. New Zealand international Colin Munro will open the batting, and after a 224-run season in 2023, he looks like the obvious choice to top score for the Heat at $3.20 with Unibet.

Tom Curran will take the ball for the Stars during the middle stages and at the back end of their bowling innings. The Englishman has a very good changeup delivery, and with 52 wickets from 37 matches in his Big Bash League career, he is a proven wicket-taker. Building on his solid performance in Perth on Sunday, it is highly likely that Curran will be the pick of the bowlers for the Stars once again at $4.75 with BoomBet.

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