There is a Christmas Eve offering in the Big Bash League this year and it sees the competition head to the Blundstone Arena for the first time in the campaign as the Hobart Hurricanes take on the defending champions Melbourne Renegades.
It is fair to say that after a couple of matches for each side this season, there is a lot of improvement in both of them, so the points will be keenly sought after here in what should be a competitive offering despite its proximity to the big day itself.
Hobart Hurricanes
It is a win and a defeat on the ledger for the Hobart Hurricanes this term as they go about backing up the campaign which saw them top the regular season table in BBL08. An obvious weakness has identified itself in those games though. I have to say I’m not completely surprised that their batting has struggled, because Matthew Wade was a key factor within it last year, but they are yet to score 130 and that is something that is going to have to change soon.
The positive for them is that they have been decent enough with the ball, but even then they were flattered by one of the most insane collapses in the history of this competition when the Sydney Sixers just completely imploded. Until the batting gets up to speed, they are going to need their bowling attack to continue to deliver the goods if they are going to pick up the necessary results they seek.
Melbourne Renegades
After such a good season last time out, one which resulted in them winning the title, it is a surprise to see the Melbourne Renegades without a win from their opening two matches this term. The reason why that is the case is that their bowling attack has been taken to the cleaners in both their games. It goes without saying that they are going to need to improve in that department if they are going to make a successful defence of their title.
I guess it is no bad thing that their batting is in good order and you would think with the quality of options they have at their disposal, it is only a matter of time before they get themselves in shape in that department. To be fair to the Renegades, they have played on an outground and at a tiny Perth Stadium, so we might need to reserve judgement on them until perhaps after this match. This will be a good test for their batsmen too against a decent bowling attack.
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Team News
Hobart Hurricanes are able to recall two big guns to their squad who missed the defeat against the Melbourne Stars. George Bailey and James Faulkner have recovered from the issues which kept them out of that match. Jake Doran and David Moody are the men to make way.
Melbourne Renegades are also making two changes to their squad with Marcus Harris and Jake Fraser-McGurk replacing Tom Andrews and Will Sutherland. Given how well their batsmen have gone that could be considered a strange move so it will be interesting to see if either start.
Betting
I’m with the Melbourne Renegades here. I say that for a couple of reasons. The first of them is that the Hobart Hurricanes are really struggling with the bat at the present time. The other reason is because Hobart have let both the sides they have played get away from them in the powerplay, and while they pulled it back against the Sydney Sixers, that was a mixture of a tacky pitch and brain dead batting and I don’t see lightning striking twice on that front here.
I think the Melbourne Renegades are the better side of the two here and if they can keep D’Arcy Short quiet, and in the English pair of Gleeson and Gurney along with Richardson they certainly have the bowlers to do that. I don’t think the Hurricanes bat as deep as Melbourne and I don’t think their attack is as strong man for man either. That leads me to backing the team in red here.
Tips
Back Melbourne Renegades to beat Hobart Hurricanes for a 4/10 stake at 1.87 with Betfair
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