The second part of the Big Bash League triple header on Tuesday is the first of two matches which takes place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground where the Melbourne Renegades conclude their campaign against the Hobart Hurricanes.
This is a nothing game other than pride for the Renegades but that is not the case for their opponents. The Hurricanes might not need to win the match to make the finals if Brisbane Heat and Melbourne Stars lose in the other games but they can guarantee their postseason participation by winning here.
Melbourne Renegades
We know by now that this has been a terrible season for the Melbourne Renegades as emphasised by the relatively easy beating they took from the Brisbane Heat last time out. If it had been the Perth Scorchers, Sydney Sixers or the Sydney Thunder that had done that then you could have forgiven the Renegades, but it is harder to let them off when it was such an inconsistent side as the Brisbane Heat which did it. They will hope to end their campaign with a much better showing here.
You’ll do well to find an area of the game where the Melbourne Renegades have convinced this season but one part of their artillery has been worse than anything else and that has been their death bowling. To be fair their seamers have been found wanting for most of the competition but particularly at the end of innings where teams are capable of scoring 50+ in the last four overs against this lot. Some youngsters have shown things with the bat but nowhere near enough.
Hobart Hurricanes
The Hobart Hurricanes overcame the then leaders Sydney Sixers at the weekend to put their destiny back in their own hands in terms of qualifying for the next stage of the competition but all that will count for little if they are unable to win this match. If you go back to my tournament preview I said that at the deep end of this competition I expected Hobart Hurricanes to come good because they have got some key players back in their repertoire.
That was evidenced in the previous match when Matthew Wade produced the goods. It isn’t just the runs he scores that propels the Hurricanes but the way his presence brings the best out of D’Arcy Short. That in turn lengthens the batting and makes them a very tough side to beat. In an ideal world the Canes would have another bowler in good form alongside Nathan Ellis and Scott Boland but there are one or two with the potential to come to the boil.
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Team News
Melbourne Renegades will be picking from the same squad of players that they had for that loss to the Brisbane Heat. Marcus Harris was an unused X-Factor in that match but they might decide to give him an outing here.
Hobart Hurricanes have also named an unchanged squad. The big question as far as they are concerned is whether there is a place in the side for Tim Paine. Tim David is likely to come back into the side for Nick Winter after their switch was a tactical plan against the Sixers.
Betting
It is hard to see anything but a pretty comfortable win for the Hobart Hurricanes here. The Melbourne Renegades have never really been at it in this campaign but they look like a side who has had their race run for a while now. I’m not convinced they are set up to play well on this ground either so it has to be a Hurricanes win for me, especially when you consider that only a win guarantees them a place in the finals later in the competition.
Hobart produced their best performance of the season here against the Sydney Sixers over the weekend and while the Sixers sent a load of filth down at them, to be fair they are not likely to get much better bowled at them here anyway. Melbourne Renegades are terrible at the death with the ball and they are very inconsistent with the bat. This Hobart side are bubbling to the top quite nicely and I expect them to win this one by a wide enough margin to cover the handicap.
Tips
Back Hobart Hurricanes (-2.5wickets/6.5runs) to beat Melbourne Renegades for a 3/10 stake at 1.73 with Bet365
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