Perth Scorchers will play Melbourne Stars in the first semi-final of the Big Bash League.
The match will be hosted by the Scorchers at the WACA in Perth, given their top-place finish in the points table at the end of the league stage. Perth won five of their seven games, the same as Hobart Hurricanes and Sydney Sixers, but nudged ahead to the top spot because of a better net run-rate.
Scorchers went down in their opener this season but came back strongly to grab five wins in a row. The chief architects of their strong performances have been Herschelle Gibbs with the bat and a pace-spin combination of Nathan Coulter-Nile and Brad Hogg with the ball.
What Gibbs did well was to not only get the runs at a good clip but also take the pressure off his opening partner and captain Marcus North. North, who had a slow start to the competition, is now on 228 runs with three half-centuries to his name.
Gibbs missed the last two games because of an injury but he should play the match. His experience at both, the international level and at crucial stages in various domestic T20 competitions will be a much-vaunted one.
Hogg’s contributions in the tournament have been both, phenomenal and stunning. Among those bowlers who have taken more than three wickets in the entire tournament, he is the only one with an economy of less than six runs per over. For someone aged 40 and who had long hung his boots and came into the side only as an 11th hour selection, this is an awesome performance.
Of course, the Scorchers will do well to not discount the Stars, who won three games in a row to qualify for the semi-finals. David Hussey has been their star performer but they are not a one-man army by any stretch.
Rob Quiney has had a couple of fifties, including a 97, and Luke Wright has answered the team’s call in one must-win game with the best score ever in Australian domestic cricket. Matthew Wade adds depth to the batting with his striking abilities and Adam Voges can get going, the side is probably the most balanced on paper.
Cameron White’s struggles are well-chronicled but he looked like getting back into some sort of form in their previous game when he got to 28.
It is the Stars’ bowling that stands out. They are a team least hurt by absentees to national call-ups and likes of James Faulkner (13 wickets) and Clint McKay (10) have done a good job with the ball in the pace bowling department. With Shane Warne picking up seven wickets but giving away only 6.65 runs per over and David Hussey getting eight, they are a bowling team to reckon with.
It should be a tough contest overall, with the Scorchers slightly favourites given the home advantage.
The Perth Scorchers v Melbourne Stars semi-final will begin at 09.00 am GMT on January 21.
