STA vs THU Dream11 Prediction, Fantasy Cricket Tips, Today's Playing 11 and Pitch Report for BBL 2023, Match 12

Melbourne Stars are set to take on Sydney Thunder in the 12th match of the ongoing Big Bash League 2023. The match is set to take place at Lavington Sports Oval in Albury. The two teams would be looking to claim a win in their match to make inroads into the points table. Both the teams are placed towards the bottom half of the points table and that augurs well for a good match between them. Teams would be wary of the playing conditions in Albury.

Melbourne Stars have performed the worst in the tournament till now. In both their matches, the Stars have failed to claim a win. But the way they have lost their matches has not gone well with their fans. Both their losses were by a huge margin, which has led to a huge negative net run-rate in their campaign till now. In their first match, the Stars lost to Brisbane Heat by a huge margin of 103 runs. In their second match, they lost to Perth Scorchers with 37 balls to spare. 

Sydney Thunder have not had any great campaigns either. But they have had their losses in slightly lesser margins. They have been competitive in both of their matches till now. In their first match, Thunder lost against the table toppers Brisbane Heat by 20 runs. The batters were at fault in the match, as they could not chase 152 runs. In the second match, the batters posted 200 runs on the board. But the bowlers let them down by letting Adelaide Strikers to chase the target.

STA vs THU, Match Details

Melbourne Stars vs Sydney Thunder, Match 12, Big Bash League 2023 

Time and Date – 10:00 AM (Indian Standard Time), Saturday, December 23, 2023 

Venue Details – Lavington Sports Oval, Albury

Broadcast Details – Star Sports Network (TV), Disney+ Hotstar (Digital OTT) 

STA vs THU, Pitch Report and Playing Conditions

The 12^th match of the tournament between Melbourne Stars and Sydney Thunder will be happening at Lavington Sports Oval in Albury. The wicket is known to assist the seam bowlers with bounce on offer. There will be good pace on the wicket and the pacers can swing the early on. Spinners can get some spin from the surface as well. The wicket would play well for the bowlers and the batters would find it difficult to score runs. That makes it a contest between bat and ball. 

Batters will have to make way to score runs on the wicket. In the early part of the innings, the ball will come nicely onto the bat. Hence, the key would be to make the most of the PP overs. Teams winning the toss are likely to bat first. With the progression of the game, scoring runs would be difficult. Dew is unlikely to make its appearance in the match. With both the teams looking forward to a win, the wicket can also be a bit batting-friendly to make the experience worth watching.

STA vs THU, Predicted Playing XIs of both teams 

Melbourne Stars (STA):

Thomas Rogers, Sam Harper (WK), Campbell Kellaway, Marcus Stoinis (C), Hilton Cartwright, Beau Webster, Liam Dawson, Usama Mir, Joel Paris, Haris Rauf, and Brody Couch.

Sydney Thunder (THU):

Cameron Bancroft, Alex Hales, Matthew Gilkes (WK), Olivier Davies, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Nathan McAndrew, Chris Green (C), Liam Hatcher, Zaman Khan, Tanveer Sangha

STA vs THU, Squads of both teams 

Melbourne Stars (STA):

Scott Boland, Joe Burns, Hilton Cartwright, Brody Couch, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Sam Harper, Nick Larkin, Glenn Maxwell, Joel Paris, Tom Rogers, Mark Steketee, Marcus Stoinis, Beau Webster, Harry Brook (Withdrawn), Haris Rauf, Usama Mir, Liam Dawson (Replacement for Harry Brook for the first 3 matches), Imad Wasim (Replacement from December 26)

Sydney Thunder (THU):

Cameron Bancroft, Ollie Davies, Matt Gilkes, Chris Green, Liam Hatcher, Nathan McAndrew, Blake Nikitaras, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Gurinder Sandhu, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, David Warner, Alex Hales, Zaman Khan

STA vs THU, Fantasy XIs

Head-to-Head:

Cameron Bancroft, Hilton Cartwright, Alex Ross, Ollie Davies, Thomas Fraser Rogers, Marcus Stoinis (VC), Chris Green, Imad Wasim, Daniel Sams, Tanveer Sangha (C), and Zahir Khan.

Grand League:  

Cameron Bancroft (C), Hilton Cartwright (VC), Alex Ross, Ollie Davies, Alex Hales, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Green, Daniel Sams, Tanveer Sangha, Haris Rauf, and Zahir Khan.