Scorchers v Hurricanes BBL tips, odds & value bets – 18/1/2023

The BBL travels west to Optus Stadium this Wednesday as the Perth Scorchers host the Hobart Hurricanes, who are fighting to keep their finals hopes alive. The Hurricanes need to win to ensure they can keep the Heat out of the top five, and a win in Perth would be an enormous boost for the men in purple.

The last time these two sides met the names on the team sheets included Shadab Khan, Jimmy Neesham, Faf du Plessis and Jhye Richardson. All these players have been huge losses for their respective franchises; however, those gaps have well and truly been filled.

The Hurricanes have won their last two games in a row, beating the Stars and Thunder; however, those two teams are no where near the calibre of the Scorchers. Returning to their home ground, Perth have only lost one game this season and look incredibly hard to beat again ($1.67).

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Since his return from injury, Aaron Hardie has been batting at number three for the Scorchers — something he has taken to incredibly well. Hardie is a sensible batter capable of accumulating runs and building an innings. At the same time, he has the height, reach and power to make good balls look bad and hit them to any corner of the ground. Should a Hurricane bowler like Riley Meredith take an early wicket, Hardie will have to shoulder the responsibility of anchoring the Scorchers innings, presenting him the chance of being the home side’s leading runscorer ($4.75).

Andrew Tye is now leading the BBL ‘Golden Arm’ for most wickets in the competition, and the return to Optus Stadium will suit him immensely. Tye can bowl with his pace up using bounce and natural variation, or use a combination of slower balls and cutters to outthink batters. Tye will be the centre of the Scorchers bowling attack again, and the $1.95 for him to take two or more wickets looks a good play.

Key matchup: Jason Behrendorff v Ben McDermott

The battle at the top of the Hurricanes batting innings will set the tone for the side and illuminate their chances of winning. When Ben McDermott is in form, it takes record-breaking run chases to beat them. Jason Behrendorff will surely get the new ball swinging and bouncing for the home side, so adjusting to the conditions will be key for the ‘Canes top order. McDermott will need to be cautious early against the Scorchers with a view to batting for the entirety of the innings. If he is too narrow-sighted in his approach, he will put his side under pressure and make winning in the west incredibly difficult.

Scorchers v Hurricanes match prediction – Jan 18, 2023

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