Brisbane Heat meet Adelaide Strikers in the 13th match of the 2025-26 Big Bash League at The Gabba on Saturday, 27 December.
The Heat have had a stop-start campaign, with one win and two defeats leaving them seventh. They have plenty of firepower, but consistency has been missing. Matt Renshaw has been their best batter with 164 runs in three games at an average of 54.33 and a strike rate of 179. Jack Wildermuth has added 124 runs at a strike rate of 175 and leads the bowlers with six wickets at an economy of 8.83, while Colin Munro and Hugh Weibgen have each passed 65 runs. Xavier Bartlett and Matthew Kuhnemann have shared five wickets, and the rest of the attack has been uneven.
Adelaide have won one and lost one to sit sixth, and they want a couple of wins to push into the top four. Captain Matthew Short has scored 71 runs in two innings at a strike rate of 134, Liam Scott has made 76 at 149, and Jamie Overton has 41 at 136. Lloyd Pope and Overton have three wickets each, and Hasan Ali has two while going for 8.71 an over.
With a quick, bouncy surface and short boundaries rewarding clean hitting, our preview expects a total in the high 160s or 170s, and tight death bowling could decide the contest.