The second Melbourne derby of the Big Bash League season forms the action in the competition on Sunday when the Melbourne Renegades host the Melbourne Stars in a clash which will have a huge implication on the season of both sides.
The Renegades will move into the top four with a win and will be in control of their own destiny for the remainder of the campaign while a Stars loss here will officially end their season from a competitive standpoint so this is a big game.
Melbourne Renegades
The Melbourne Renegades have had an indifferent season so far and it will be interesting to see whether they can find some consistency for the remaining three matches and if they can then there is every chance that they will be able to reach the finals, which must have been their aim at the start of the year when they had done all of their good work in reshaping their squad. Three straight wins from here and they are definitely in the finals but with their net run rate being so good two wins could be enough.
The Renegades look a really good balanced side now and so with that in mind it is weird how they are only 3-4 for their season but a really solid win over the Perth Scorchers in Perth last time out should have boosted their confidence and they will be confident of success in this match. A win would go with the added bonus of ending the campaign of their city rivals so we should expect to see the best of the Renegades in this match.
Melbourne Stars
The Melbourne Stars have had a pretty weird season too. It took them an age to get on the board for the year but at the sixth attempt they finally got their first win and they have added two more wins since then, including one over the Melbourne Renegades. It isn’t a guarantee that if the Stars win their last two matches they will be in the top four but the way the results have been going 10 points would give them a chance of making it so that has to be their aim.
The Stars have come alive with the bat in recent times. A lot of that was down to the inclusion of Dan Lawrence who gave their middle order a bit of a pep but he has left for the UAE tournament now and it will be interesting to see if that impacts their batting. There is no doubt that the Stars bowling isn’t up to the levels of a number of teams in this competition so they really need their big batters to come to the party if they are going to keep their season alive.
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Key Players
The Melbourne Renegades captain Will Sutherland reminded us of his all-round skills in that win over the Perth Scorchers and his team will be looking for him to deliver the goods here. He bowls some tough overs and can club a few at the back end of an innings.
Glenn Maxwell gave us a reminder of all of his power in the Melbourne Stars win over the Sydney Sixers, but he isn’t just a valuable player as a batter, he is a very good fielder as well and can bowl some useful off spin. He needs a big game if the Stars are to win you would think.
Betting
I’m not one to back the Melbourne Stars very often but there has been a little bit of coming and going within the Melbourne Renegades ranks ahead of this match and they have a couple of injuries which I would rather they don’t have so I’m leaning towards the men in green for this one. It certainly helps that they won the reverse meeting between the two sides as well and I fancy them to complete the double away from home here.
The Stars won that match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground despite Jono Wells hitting 45 from 31 and Laurie Evans making 25 off 11 and neither of those will be around for this one. Dan Lawrence only made two for the Stars so his impact on the win was minimal and Beau Webster was away for that match and he won’t be here so that bodes well for the lower ranked side here. There might not be much in this one but the Stars look like they have found a big enough groove for me to support them here.
Tips
Back Melbourne Stars to beat Melbourne Renegades for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with William Hill
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