HBH vs MLS 1st Semi-Final Match Prediction

HBH vs MLS Team Previews

Hobart Hurricanes

The Hobart Hurricanes have had one of their best group stages in Big Bash history. They have got the home semi-final they deserved and have all their players available for this match as well. This means they have no reason to love and this can put additional pressure on the players.

The Hobart Hurricanes managed to beat the Melbourne Stars when the tables were reversed in BBL 03. On that occasion, the Melbourne Stars reached the semi-finals unbeaten and were then knocked out by the Melbourne Stars. The Hurricanes will be wary of the same thing this time around.

The two highest run-getters of the tournament, Darcy Short and Matthew Wade are going to be opening the batting for the Hurricanes. They have managed to give the rest of the batsmen in their side a pretty easy time until now. If the two of them fail then the middle order of the Hobart Hurricanes is going to be tested for sure.

It looks like the side will stick with Caleb Jewell at 3, followed by Ben McDermott, George Bailey, Simon Milenko, and the five bowlers. The Hobart Hurricanes do not have any real all-rounders in their side and that makes their batting depth a bit vulnerable to the loss of early wickets.

This has not been a problem up until now for the Hobart Hurricanes, though.

The bowling attack for the Hobart Hurricanes has been very good. Jofra Archer, James Faulkner, and Qais Ahmed seem to certain to start in the playing eleven. Two out of Clive Rose, Riley Meredith, and David Moody are going to play.

We would maybe look to go with Rose and Meredith for this match. Rose allows the Hobart Hurricanes to slow up the pace of the match while Meredith gives them raw pace to attack with.

The Hobart Hurricanes are a well-balanced side with plenty of players in form. They must hope to avoid a bad day from here on in.

Melbourne Stars

The Melbourne Stars owe their place in the BBL semi-final to a brilliant inning from Glenn Maxwell. The Melbourne Stars skipper turned up just when it was needed the most and absolutely crushed the Sydney Sixers bowling attack. There is no one that can stop him in this form and that is exactly what the Melbourne Stars are so dangerous.

The Melbourne Stars don’t have the same quality of batting that the Hobart Hurricanes have. They do have some quality match-winners that can take the game away from the opposition in a matter of a few overs.

The role of Marcus Stoinis in this Melbourne Stars side cannot be overstated. He is the third highest run-getter of the Big Bash this season across all teams and has the most wickets for any bowlers in the Stars side as well.

He is another player that loves the big stage.

If Ben Dunk, Nic Maddinson, or Peter Handscomb can also have a good match then the Stars could challenge the Hurricanes in terms of runs and end up surprising them.

The weak link for the Melbourne Stars has been their bowling. We assume that the same attack will take the field as the one that was so successful against the Sydney Sixers. Such matches have been far and few in between for the Melbourne Stars in BBL 08.

Daniel Worrall, Jackson Bird, Adam Zampa, and Sandeep Lamichhane were the four genuine bowlers in the previous match. Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis can chip in with the ball as required.

This is not a bowling attack that is going to worry the Hobart Hurricanes too much. One of Lamichhane or Zampa will need to have an incredible night for the Stars to be able to contain a very strong Hobart Hurricanes batting lineup.