There is Christmas Eve action in the Big Bash League on Saturday when the competition heads to the Blundstone Arena for the first time this term as the Hobart Hurricanes take on the Melbourne Renegades.
Hobart were expected to go very well this season but they haven’t hit the ground running. The Renegades were hoping to go much better than they had in recent campaigns and unlike their opponents here they have started well.
Hobart Hurricanes
The Hobart Hurricanes have played three matches so far this season but have only won one of them. That was their sole home game so far so that will give them a little bit of confidence. They have gone down to the Melbourne Stars and the Sydney Sixers, the latter in controversial circumstances because had a waist-high no ball been called the Hurricanes might well have won that one. They beat the Perth Scorchers which highlights what they can do.
Hobart haven’t really put a complete batting display together just yet. They got near it when they beat the Perth Scorchers but it wasn’t there in full. There is so much talent in that batting department that they will surely get it right soon. The one thing there is a lot of improvement to come from is their fielding. While there was rain around in Sydney in their last match the fielding was average and it hasn’t been good at any stage in the competition.
Melbourne Renegades
The Melbourne Renegades have made a perfect start to their season with three wins from three. Two of those victories have come against the Brisbane Heat and there might still be a question mark over the quality of the form of those wins but the other one was against the Sydney Thunder, which feels like a better win but at the same time they haven’t really got going how they would have wanted to either just yet.
The Renegades have really been at the party with the bat this season and that was important because they had batted like drains for much of the last few seasons. They have also come up with a different play with regards to the way they use their bowlers and while it is unique bowling four overs of spin in the powerplay, it is a plan that has served then well to date. If their seamers can back up the spinners then Melbourne could run this thing very close.
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Key Players
Asif Ali showed in no uncertain terms just what hitting power he has got when he nearly got the Hobart Hurricanes home from absolutely nowhere against the Sydney Sixers last time out. His appearance in the middle order will give a little more freedom to those above him to express themselves.
This is the final match in the Renegades’ red for Andre Russell and having contributed heavily in both the wins over the Brisbane Heat, the Jamaican will be looked at to finish his stint in the Big Bash with another big performance.
Betting
The sixes line for this match is 10.5 and while the boundaries here at Blundstone Arena are bigger than the square ones at the Kardinia Oval where the Melbourne Renegades played their last match, they are not that much bigger and I expect this line to be covered with the plethora of big hitters that are on show here. Matches between these two teams tend to be high scoring and with neither bowling attack having really hit the ground running I expect this line to be covered.
We have some brutal hitters of a cricket ball going for us here in the likes of D’Arcy Short, Ben McDermott, Matthew Wade, Tim David, Asif Ali, Nic Maddinson, Aaron Finch and Andre Russell and while Melbourne have been tidy up first with the ball, Akeal Hosein, another clean hitter of the ball, will be turning into Short and Wade which might negate his effectiveness. These boundaries are accessible and with both teams likely to want to put on a show on Christmas Eve I’m fully expecting this 10.5 line to be covered.
Tips
Back Over 10.5 sixes for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Coral
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