The Big Bash League 2021-22 season continues on Monday when they bottom two in the table meet in what is a big match for both teams even this early in the campaign. It sees Brisbane Heat hosting the Melbourne Renegades in Carrara.
The Heat have been slightly disadvantaged in that they have had to play away from The Gabba to begin with due to the Test match being staged there so they might feel their season begins here. Melbourne will be looking for a second win of the season which will catapult them up the table.
Brisbane Heat
The Brisbane Heat have mitigating circumstances around their start to the season but the fact they have come away from their first two matches without a single point would suggest they haven’t been anywhere near as competitive as they would have liked. Often when sides don’t win they pick up Bash Boost points along the way but the Heat haven’t managed to do that. It goes without saying it is imperative they get off the mark here and could do with a win to avoid being cut adrift.
To be fair to the Heat, they only lost their second match in Perth by six runs but they hit some late runs to get that close. In reality they weren’t ever really in that match and if they are going to come good then they need to get something going with the bat. They have posted 140/8 and 151 all out in their two innings to date and that isn’t going to be enough to win many matches at this level. If they can find something with the bat then they have shown they can be competitive with the ball in hand.
Melbourne Renegades
It has been quite a mixed start for the Melbourne Renegades so far this season. I think many would have expected them to make a slow start because of three key absentees they have had at the beginning of the campaign, so the fact they already have a win to their name should probably be seen as a positive. If they can come away with a win here they will be nicely placed for when the key players return and they have a fully fit squad to choose from.
The big issue for the Renegades has been the way they have struggled to finish their innings off with the bat. They laboured at the end of their batting innings in their opening match and then collapsed in the second game which proved very costly. They have shown they have enough in their ranks to be competitive with the bat but that isn’t going to count for much if their middle order doesn’t deliver the goods. Having one of their three key missing batters back here will help.
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Team News
Brisbane Heat might well have Mark Steketee available for this match after he has completed his Australia A duties but Michael Neser, Mitch Swepson and Marnus Labuschagne are all in the Test squad so won’t be around for the Heat.
Melbourne Renegades have their new captain Nic Maddinson in their squad for the first time this season now that he has finished with Australia A. Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh and Cameron Boyce remain sidelined by injury.
Betting
These two squads are still a little too unsettled for my liking when it comes to backing either of them to win. I probably wouldn’t want to get involved in that market anyway because this is a really good ground for batting and the chasing side is probably at a huge advantage here, even though in the main this hasn’t been a tournament where chasing a score has necessarily proved successful so far. I’ll head to the side markets for a bet in this one instead.
That comes in the runs line which is only 303.5 in this match. In all but one of the completed matches on this ground last season this line was covered and the match in which it wasn’t contained the champions Sydney Sixers who were much better than any other side in the league and bowled first. These two sides don’t look that strong so I’m expecting this to fit with the other matches played here last term. This is very much a ground where the bowlers have to work hard to get anything so I like the over here even though these two sides have flattered to deceive with the bat so far this term.
Tips
Back Over 303.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
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