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Big Bash tips, odds & betting specials for Heat vs. Stars

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    Brisbane Heat vs. Melbourne Stars

    • BBL07 title odds

      Brisbane Heat: $6 at Neds
      Melbourne Stars: $6.50 at Sportsbet

Wednesday, December 20, 2017 – 6:40pm AEST (7:40pm AEDT) – The Gabba, Brisbane

BRISBANE Heat could have one of their greatest assets back in action when they open their Big Bash League campaign on Wednesday night.

Shoulder surgery has kept Chris Lynn off the park since May, but Fairfax publications are reporting that the brawny Queenslander is a real chance to suit up for round one.

While the Heat have made it clear they won’t rush their star slogger back until his body is right, the Melbourne Stars are not prepared to take any chances in their preparation.

“We know how destructive he can be and we’re just hoping we can back our bowlers in,” said Stars wicketkeeper Ben Dunk, last year’s top runscorer in the Big Bash.

“We’ve got world-class bowlers, both spin and pace and we back them in to get him out early.”

Dunk is the one notable addition to a Stars squad that fell at the BBL semi-finals yet again last term.

Victorian stalwart John Hastings captains a list that includes English imports Kevin Pietersen and Luke Wright, Cricket World Cup winners James Faulkner and Glenn Maxwell, and Aussie ODI stars Marcus Stoinis and Adam Zampa.

While questions remain about how many of those players will be available at the business end of the season, it is a full-strength side – minus only Peter Handscomb – that heads up to the Gabba this week.

Brendon McCullum odds

Even if Lynn does not play, the Heat have a pretty handy hitter setting the tone at the top of the order.

Fans of the Queensland franchise were delighted to hear on Monday that Brendon McCullum had signed on for another three years at the Gabba.

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Even at 36 years of age, the former New Zealand captain is one of the BBL’s most exciting batsmen – and one of its most astute and positive tacticians.

McCullum comes in off back-to-back fifties in the Bangladesh Premier League, so the form is there for all to see.

Heat vs. Stars match prediction

Will it all boil down to whether or not Lynn plays?

That line of thinking does a disservice to both sides.

It was Brisbane’s unheralded bowling attack that saw them top the ladder in BBL06, and much will depend on how the likes of Mark Steketee and Mitch Swepson perform this time around.

The Heat have also made some exciting new additions in Yasir Shah and Shadab Khan – two very fine leg-spin bowlers from Pakistan.

The Stars, meanwhile, have a rock-solid list that oozes class and experience.

They also have a few players – Stoinis, Faulkner, Maxwell and Zampa, for instance – who will be eager to catch the national selectors’ eye in the first few weeks of the campaign.

It might be the toughest match to tip all week, but the Stars look well poised to make a strong start away from home.

Melbourne Stars to win-109.89 at William Hill

Big Bash betting specials

Several of the best online bookmakers have Big Bash bonus offers in play for the first week of fixtures:

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