Perth Scorchers and Adelaide Strikers BBL Preview, Betting Tips and Odds

The MCG won’t be the only place to watch cricket on Boxing Day, with the Perth Scorchers and Adelaide Strikers to light up Perth’s Optus Stadium at 4:15 p.m. local time (6:15 p.m. AEST), shortly after stumps between Australia and India.

Can Pre-Season Betting Favourites Recover?

Perth entered the BBL|08 season as title favourites but have had a disastrous start to the season with losses to the Melbourne Renegades and Sydney Sixers. This is their first home match for the season, and they’ll be desperate to return to form against the defending champion Adelaide Strikers, who won their season opener against the Brisbane Heat before losing at home to the Renegades.

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Boxing Day with the Scorchers - lock it in! ? ?Back to back matches ?Men 4.15pm | Women 7.45pm ?Sam Perry performance ? Show that you’re #MADETOUGH ?? grab your tix today at bio link!

A post shared by Perth Scorchers (@scorchersbbl) on Dec 23, 2018 at 4:55pm PST

The online bookies have been quick to write off the Scorchers, making them underdogs for this match. Interestingly, the Scorchers won 83.3% of games last season when they started underdogs and just 42.9% of games as favourites, according to Unibet. They’re good value to turn things around against the Strikers, with TopBetta paying 2.10 in match betting.

Focus on Player Betting Markets

The Scorchers go in without Shaun and Mitch Marsh, who are on test duty, and Cameron Bancroft, who will return from his lengthy suspension against Hobart on December 30. The likes of Michael Klinger, 1.90 with Unibet to score 24 or more, and Ashton Turner, 1.87 to score 18 or more, will need to lead the way with the bat. Jason Behrendorff, 6.50 for top match bowler, will be under pressure to add to his season tally of four wickets.

There was nothing Short about this strike! @Weet_Bix | #BBL08 pic.twitter.com/LsVzjKwYqV

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 23, 2018

Strikers recruit Matthew Short top scored against his old team the Renegades with 65, and Pointsbet are paying 10.00 for a him to top score against the Scorchers – and for Adelaide to win. Short and teammate Alex Carey are both ranked top 10 in the BBL for sixes, with five and four respectively. Bet365 is paying 2.00 for Adelaide to have the most sixes in this match.