Two more sides get their Big Bash League seasons underway on Saturday when the Melbourne Renegades head to Queensland to take on the Brisbane Heat at the Gabba.
The Heat will be looking to bounce back from their disappointing campaign of last season and go into this one with their spirits high even if expectation on them is quite low.
That is the exact opposite to the Renegades for whom a number of people are accrediting them with the dark horses tag. I guess that is because of the recruitment they have made during the off season and it will be interesting to see if they can live up to their billing.
If Brisbane are going to go well in this tournament then it might be now with Joe Burns available for them. Once he goes there will be a hole left in their batting even though Lendl Simmons has been signed. He’s a good signing and he’ll debut here alongside his fellow West Indian Samuel Badree.
All eyes will be one man for the Renegades and that is Chris Gayle. He goes into the match with the potential to explode but in fairness he isn’t the only one. Cameron White, Aaron Finch, Matthew Wade and Dwayne Bravo can all go big while with the ball Xavier Doherty could be a canny inclusion.
The Heat are the clear outsiders with the bookmakers and I would say that is fair enough given the daunting talent in the opposition but even as good as they look on paper the Renegades are a touch short to me so rather than take a short price or a side I don’t really fancy I’ll look to the side markets.
The obvious starting point comes in the sixes market where any total is possible with Chris Gayle opening the batting for one of the two sides. It just so happens that on this occasion the 11.5 line is very much in play even if Gayle fails.
That is because this is one of the best one day wickets in the country now and the straight boundaries here aren’t all that big at the best of times but with the pyrotechnics around the ground the side ones are usually brought in a fair way too.
Aside from Gayle there are loads of hitters on show in this match. Finch, White, Wade, Lynn, Simmons, Bravo, Burns and Cutting all hit a huge ball and between them they can bring up a dozen sixes and probably quite a few more.
Back Over 11.5 sixes for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with William Hill
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