Dec 12: Melbourne Stars vs Sydney Thunder, Canberra

Pro Tip: Melbourne Stars have won each of their last four games against Sydney Thunder. They have also played a game already. So it might be worth having more Stars players.

Our XI: Andre Fletcher, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Hilton Cartwright, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Adam Zampa, Alex Hales, Ben Cutting, Daniel Sams, Usman Khawaja, Jonathan Cook

Substitutes: Dilbar Hussain, Billy Stanlake, Chris Green, Callum Ferguson

Player availability: The only unavailable player for Sydney Thunder is Sam Billings. Will Pucovski and Nicholas Pooran will miss out for Melbourne Stars. We might not always be able to tip you off about late injury (or other relevant) updates, so please finalise your team after the toss.

Captain: Marcus Stoinis

Stoinis has been a revelation, especially with the bat, in T20 cricket in the past year. He was the leading run-scorer in BBL 09 with 705 runs in 17 innings at an average of 54.23. He also recorded the highest individual score in BBL history when he smashed a 79-ball 147* against Sydney Sixers last season. He had a great IPL 2020 too, scoring 352 runs and picking up 13 wickets in 17 games.

Vice-captain: Usman Khawaja

After not being picked in the squad for the India series, Khawaja will look to make a mark in BBL 10. He had a decent BBL 09, scoring 388 runs in 17 games with three 50-plus scores. His record against Stars is outstanding - 306 runs in eight games at an average of 43.71 and a strike rate of 149.27. His highest BBL score of 109* was also scored against Stars.

Hot Picks

Glenn Maxwell: He has come from a brilliant limited-overs leg against India, where he scored three 50-plus scores in six games. He had a good BBL 09 too, where he scored 398 runs in 16 innings at an average of 39.80 and a strike rate of 148.50. He picked up ten wickets in the last BBL as well.

Alex Hales: Hales was the second-highest scorer in BBL 09 with 576 runs in 17 games at an average of 38.40 and a strike rate of 146.93. Since the start of 2019, Hales is the third-highest scorer in T20s, with 2210 runs in 78 innings at an average of 31.12 and a strike rate of 145.29, only behind Babar Azam and KL Rahul.

Daniel Sams: The latest T20I debutant for Australia is a Sydney Thunder boy. He was the highest wicket-taker in BBL 09 with 30 wickets in 17 games at a strike rate of 11.7 (eight more wickets than the second best). He is more than a handy striker of the ball too.

Differential Picks

Jonathan Cook: Cook is another local Thunder player, who bowls his legspinners mainly in the powerplay and the middle overs. His powerplay economy of 6.77 in the BBL is one of the highlights of his game. He was the best spinner for Thunder in BBL 09, picking up 13 wickets in 12 games at an average of 25.15.

Hilton Cartwright: A floater in the batting order who has played in all of the top seven positions in his short T20 career, Cartwright scored 230 runs in eight innings at an average of 38.33 in BBL 09, playing mainly as a top-order batsman.

Alternate Scenarios

Chris Green didn't have a successful BBL 09, picking up only three wickets in seven games. However, if Cook is not picked in the XI, he can be an alternative option.