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Sydney Thunder
Hobart Hurricanes
Hobart Hurricanes will face Sydney Thunder in the 21st match of the Big Bash League 2025/26 at the Sydney Showground Stadium. Sydney Thunder will look to end their poor run. They are placed at the bottom of the table with 1 win and 4 losses in their last 5 matches.
The Hobart Hurricanes will enter this contest with a stronger overall record. They sit second on the points table with 4 wins and 2 losses. Despite suffering their second defeat in the previous match, their season is well on track.
Head-to-head numbers will also favour Hobart. In the last 7 meetings, the Hurricanes have 5 wins, while the Thunder have just one, with one result. Hobart will also have won 4 of the last 5 matches overall, all while chasing, while Sydney will have no wins in that span.
Riley Meredith has already combined for 16 wickets with Nathan Ellis, making him likely to pick up multiple wickets again against a struggling Sydney Thunder batting unit.
The betting tip is...
Riley Meredith - Over 1.5 wickets
61 %
39 %
Sydney ThunderHobart HurricanesSydney Thunder have had a difficult start to the season. They are at the bottom of the table with a net run rate of -1.463.
The batting unit has shown some positives. Matthew Gilkes remains their most consistent batter with 165 runs from 5 matches at a strike rate of 181. Sam Billings and Sam Konstas have both crossed the 100-run mark and added depth in the middle order. Cameron Bancroft will bring experience and will likely provide 25-30 runs regularly. Shadab Khan contributed 104 runs from four innings at a strike rate of 125.
With the ball, Daniel Sams led the attack with 7 wickets in 5 matches despite conceding close to 10 an over. Reece Topley took 5 wickets at an economy of 10.23. Shadab Khan also stands out with 7 wickets and will be relied upon for control.
Matthew Gilkes, Shadab Khan and Reece Topley are the key players.
Predicted Lineup: David Warner (c), Sam Konstas, Cameron Bancroft, Matthew Gilkes, Sam Billings (wk), Shadab Khan, Daniel Sams, Chris Green, Nathan McAndrew, Tanveer Sangha, Reece Topley
Hobart Hurricanes had dominantly started the season, with the batting unit having shown both stability and scoring range. Mitchell Owen and Nikhil Chaudhary had provided solid starts, with Chaudhary leading the run charts after scoring 211 runs from 6 matches at a strike rate of 155.
Ben McDermott had delivered reliable middle-order returns with 183 runs from 6 games at 132. Matthew Wade had added late-innings impact, scoring 108 runs at a strike rate close to 190.
The bowling attack had complemented the batting well. Riley Meredith and Nathan Ellis had led the pace unit, combining for 16 wickets. Chris Jordan had controlled the death overs effectively. Rishad Hossain had spearheaded the spin attack with 8 wickets at an economy of 7.79.
Nikhil Chaudhary, Ben McDermott and Riley Meredith are the key players.
Predicted Lineup: Mitchell Owen, Tim Ward, Nikhil Chaudhary, Ben McDermott, Macalister Wright, Matthew Wade (wk), Rehan Ahmed, Chris Jordan, Nathan Ellis (c), Rishad Hossain, Riley Meredith
Hobart Hurricanes had looked the more settled side coming into this contest, especially with the ball. Their bowling unit had operated with better control and clearer roles across phases. Riley Meredith and Nathan Ellis had consistently struck early, which had put opposition batting under pressure.
Meredithβs pace and ability to hit hard lengths had regularly forced mistakes in the power play. Chris Jordan had tightened things at the death, while Rishad Hossain had provided control through the middle overs with regular breakthroughs.
Sydney Thunderβs bowlers had leaked runs despite picking up wickets, which had allowed opponents to stay ahead of the game. If Hobartβs bowlers repeated their usual discipline, they were likely to dictate the match again, with early wickets setting the tone for another strong Hurricanes performance.
