Oddsworth

Melbourne Stars v Brisbane Heat: Stars 54% to win

Stars 54%. Heat 46%.

KFC BBL|16, match 8Monday 21 December 2026, 7:15pm AEDTJunction Oval, Melbourne

Stars

ParBatting+15.4Bowling+4.6Overall+20.0

Heat

ParBatting+9.5Bowling−1.1Overall+8.4

Stars bat first

First innings183
Heat short by34 runs
51%Stars win
49%Heat win

Heat bat first

First innings174
Stars chase in18 overs
57%Stars win
43%Heat win

First innings

183Stars bat first
174Heat bat first
178Par
–Recent average here

Par is the total defended about half the time. No completed first innings here since Sept 2023.

Chasing here

0%

0 of 2 won chasing all-time. No completed game here in the last three years. BBL only.

Rain risk

4%

of games in dry weather at Australian BBL grounds were shortened (26 of 636).

The match is beyond the forecast range, so pick a past evening at the ground. The win chance and players stay the same.

Strengths and weaknesses

Finn AllenBatting standout, Stars: 171 runs, SR 154 (last 10)
Peter SiddleBowling standout, Stars: 16 wkts, econ 8.59 (last 10)
HeatBowling weakness: −1.1 runs a game. Neser econ 9.85 in the last 10.

Melbourne Stars favoured by about 12 runs on paper

Melbourne Stars are favoured, with a win chance of 54% to Brisbane Heat's 46%. The edge is about 12 runs on paper, built from both batting and bowling: Stars are 6 runs better with the bat and 5.7 runs better with the ball. Their team strength is 20 runs against an average side, while Heat are 8.4 runs better than average.

Stars project 183 batting first, Heat 174, against a par score of 178. The recent league first-innings average is 170 from 60 innings. At this ground, the all-time median is 205 from 2 games, and both totals were defended. Chasing here has not worked: teams batting first have won 2 of 2. The sharpest angle is the bowling gap, with Stars 5.7 runs ahead.

The case for the Stars

  • Projected 183 batting first, 9 runs above par.
  • Batting is 15.4 runs better than average and bowling 4.6 runs better than average.
  • Finn Allen, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis all rate above average with the bat.

Batting standouts

Finn Allen

171 runs, SR 154, 11 sixes in the last 10. Rated +6.7 runs a game with the bat.

Rated 6.7 runs better than an average batter. He has 171 runs at a strike rate of 154 in his last 10 T20 matches, with 11 sixes.

Marcus Stoinis

204 runs, SR 138, 11 sixes in the last 10. Rated +2.8 runs a game with the bat.

Rated 2.8 runs better than an average batter and 0.5 runs better than an average bowler. He has 204 runs at a strike rate of 137.8 and 16 wickets at an economy of 7.6 in his last 10 T20 matches.

Glenn Maxwell

152 runs, SR 162, 9 sixes in the last 10. Rated +3.3 runs a game with the bat.

Rated 3.3 runs better than an average batter. He has 152 runs at a strike rate of 161.7 in his last 10 T20 matches.

Bowling standout

Peter Siddle

16 wkts, econ 8.59 in the last 10. Rated +3.4 runs a game with the ball.

Rated 3.4 runs better than an average bowler. He has 16 wickets at an economy of 8.59 in his last 10 T20 matches.

The case for the Heat

  • Projected 174 batting first, 4 runs below par.
  • Matthew Renshaw and Max Bryant rate above average with the bat.
  • Xavier Bartlett and Matt Kuhnemann rate above average with the ball.

Batting standout

Matthew Renshaw

270 runs, SR 126, 9 sixes in the last 10. Rated +3.3 runs a game with the bat.

Rated 3.3 runs better than an average batter. He has 270 runs at a strike rate of 126.2 in his last 10 T20 matches.

Bowling weakness

Michael Neser

13 wkts, econ 9.85 in the last 10. Rated −1.0 runs a game with the ball.

Rated 1 run worse than an average bowler. He has 13 wickets at an economy of 9.85 in his last 10 T20 matches.

Photo: DustyNail · CC BY-SA 4.0

Junction Oval

Melbourne, Australia · 2 BBL matches here

St Kilda's ground dates from 1856 and reopened in 2018 after a $40 million rebuild as Cricket Victoria's headquarters and Sheffield Shield home.

Opened
1856
Capacity
7,000 seats
Home to
Cricket Victoria; Melbourne Stars (BBL)

The ground's full record

Every first innings here

2 of 2

reached par (178). Median 205.

Recent BBL first innings average 170; games here have scored about 3% above their leagues' averages. Medians by era: 2008–2017 –, 2018–2022 205, 2023 onward –.

Too few completed first innings here to chart. Par comes from recent BBL scoring and the ground's record.

What total is safe?

First inningsDefended
Under 150No games
150–169No games
170–189100%1 of 1
190–209No games
210+100%1 of 1

Weather: dry, like 5 Jan 2026

5 January 2026 at Junction Oval: 18 °C, humidity 61%, wind 15 km/h and 0 mm of rain during the hours of play. 36 of 430 evenings within three weeks of 21 December in the last 10 years had at least 1 mm of rain at Junction Oval during these hours.

These conditions are dry, like 5 January 2026 at Junction Oval: 18°C, 61% humidity, 15 km/h wind and no rain during play. Rain risk is low. At Australian BBL grounds, 4% of games in similar weather were shortened or washed out, 26 of 636. Rain should not be a factor. Heat and wind have made no measurable difference to first-innings scoring at Australian BBL grounds.

During play: 18.4 °C on average, humidity 61%, wind 16 km/h gusting to 45.

Melbourne Stars XI

Batting positionPlayer and last 10BatBowl
1Tom Rogers186 runs, SR 122−1.5–
2Sam Harperkeeper385 runs, SR 160+2.4–
3Finn Allen171 runs, SR 154+6.7–
4Campbell Kellaway1 over172 runs, SR 123; 0 wkts, econ 9.00−0.8−0.7
5Marcus Stoinis4 overs204 runs, SR 138; 16 wkts, econ 7.60+2.8+0.5
6Glenn Maxwell2 overs152 runs, SR 162; 3 wkts, econ 10.10+3.3−0.1
7Hilton Cartwright192 runs, SR 170+2.5–
8Jamie Overton3 overs14 wkts, econ 8.89–+0.4
9Mitch Swepson4 overs8 wkts, econ 7.07–+0.7
10Todd Murphy2 overs8 wkts, econ 8.82–+0.3
11Peter Siddle4 overs16 wkts, econ 8.59–+3.4

Team record and squad

Brisbane Heat XI

Batting positionPlayer and last 10BatBowl
1Jack Wildermuth3 overs222 runs, SR 159; 10 wkts, econ 9.92+0.5−2.0
2Nathan McSweeney210 runs, SR 146+0.1–
3Tim Robinson178 runs, SR 131+0.7–
4Matthew Renshaw2 overs270 runs, SR 126; 3 wkts, econ 7.00+3.3+0.1
5Max Bryant222 runs, SR 152+2.2–
6Tom Curran3 overs12 wkts, econ 7.71+1.5+0.2
7Hugh Weibgen151 runs, SR 107−0.3–
8Jimmy Peirsonkeeper, unsigned145 runs, SR 131+0.4–
9Xavier Bartlett4 overs11 wkts, econ 7.82–+0.7
10Michael Neser4 overs13 wkts, econ 9.85–−1.0
11Matt Kuhnemann4 overs9 wkts, econ 7.29–+0.8

Team record and squad

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