Thursday, 23 January 2020:
Adelaide middle-order lynchpin Jon Wells believes Perth's bouncy Optus Stadium holds no fears for the surging Strikers ahead of Thursday's crunch clash with the Scorchers at Optus Stadium.
The second-ranked Strikers will likely come across a markedly different deck to the slow, variable Adelaide Oval turner they encountered in Wednesday's 11-run win over the Melbourne Stars.
"Heading to Perth on what should be a fast, bouncy deck, I think that will suit our players," said Wells, whose undefeated 55 earned him player-of-the-match honours against the Stars and took his BBL season tally to 406 runs at 81.20.
"Looking forward to getting over there and coming up against them ... they're starting to play some good cricket."
The last time the two sides met, shortly before Christmas in Adelaide, the Strikers prevailed by 15 runs after absorbing a stunning onslaught from Perth openers Liam Livingstone and Josh Inglis.
Wells is expecting a serious contest from the hungry, fourth-placed Scorchers who are still in the top-two mix.
"They're coming off a good win (against Sydney Thunder on Monday)," he said.
"No doubt they'll be looking to continue their momentum and push for a finals spot, as are we."
The Strikers enter the clash riding a three-game winning streak and a perfect two-from-two record against the ladder-leading Stars.
Wells doesn't believe his team has the wood on the Stars but would relish a third dip at the men in green in the finals.
"We've just played well against them twice this year," he said.
"They're a very good team. To be able to beat them for the second time this season was great.
"Hopefully if we come up against them again, we can do it a third time."
