The last two winners of the Big Bash League meet in the one match in the competition on Sunday when the Melbourne Renegades host the Adelaide Strikers in the first game of the season at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne.
These two teams have made very different starts to their campaigns with the Strikers off to something of a flyer whereas the Renegades haven’t really got going just yet as they bid to defend the title.
Melbourne Renegades
Quite amazingly given how well they played last season, a stronger looking Melbourne Renegades side on paper have lost their opening three matches this term. Given that there is an extra spot in the playoffs this season there is no need for the champions to panic, but were they to go 0-4 and alarm bells might be beginning to ring. This isn’t a match they must win with that in mind but it is one which they could do with winning just to make them feel better about themselves.
The batting for the Renegades has by and large been pretty good so it comes as a surprise that it is with the ball where their issues have been so far in the tournament. They have been especially poor in the middle overs which is unlike them, and really need to come up with a plan to combat that, because in terms of powerplay and death bowlers they look suitably well equipped. We know what a confident Renegades side can do so a win here will do them the world of good.
Adelaide Strikers
The Adelaide Strikers were probably fortunate not to lose their opening match of the campaign but they have responded brilliantly to win their next two games. You could make a case that they could have lost both of them but to their credit, their bowlers held their nerve and when the door opened for them they powered through it. That sort of thing can take a team a lot way so the Strikers should be extremely confident going into this match.
In an ideal world the batting line up for the Strikers will deliver a few more runs to avoid them having to jangle a few nerves towards the end of the matches, but they are winning and that is all that counts. The other thing that has stood out has been the captaincy of Alex Carey. He has used his bowlers at the right time on both occasions and that is something that should never be underplayed either.
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Team News
Melbourne Renegades have made two changes as they look for their first win of the season. Joe Mennie and Will Sutherland come into the squad for Jake Fraser-McGurk and Jack Wildermuth, although it remains to be seen whether either will feature.
Adelaide Strikers have made one change to their camp with Harry Conway missing out with the illness that kept him out of the previous game. Liam O’Connor is the man to come in for him, although you would expect the Strikers to be unchanged.
Betting
Given what we have seen this season I’m a little bit surprised that the Adelaide Strikers are not the favourites here but the Melbourne Renegades were my pick before the season started and I’m not ready to desert them just yet. I believe they could do with chasing a score rather than trying to defend one though, to have the best chance of coming out on top as their death bowling just isn’t cutting the mustard right now.
The bet I like though is for Adelaide Strikers to hit more than 11.5 fours in the match. So far this season they have hit 16, 25 and 11 fours with the latter being on that big ground on the Gold Coast where they were taking on a near full international Melbourne Stars bowling attack. That won’t be the case here and they are actually playing at a ground where the boundaries are accessible. The Strikers don’t contain too many natural six hitters so I’ll back them to reach a dozen fours rather than need sixes to be in play.
Tips
WON – Back Adelaide Strikers – Over 11.5 fours for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with BetVictor
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