The two Melbourne-based teams, Renegades and Star play the 18th game of Big Bash League 2011-12 on January 7.
Both teams, Renegades (5/6 at
SportingBet) and Stars have a battle on their hands in their remaining three games if they have to make it to the semi-finals. Renegades have two wins from their four games but with a poor net run-rate that puts them at the fifth spot in the points table. Stars have only one win which means they are only a spot above the winless Brisbane Heat.
Stars (1/1 at
Blue Square) could well have won two of the three games they lost. They went down to the Sixers by only two runs and should have chased down the target of 137 against Perth but fell eight short of the win.
Their performance has been a tad scratchy with the bat as only David Hussey (4/1 at
Stan James) and to a lesser extent, Rob Quiney have got the runs under their belt. I would sound like a broken record if I spoke about Cameron White’s form but he has been struggling – with scores of 1, 2, 3 and 1 in his four innings. Nothing better than your captain lead from the front and conversely nothing worse than a grumpy skipper worried about where the next run will come from.
Renegades began their season with a couple of thumping losses at the hands of Adelaide Strikers and Perth Scorchers. Staring down the barrel, bowled out for 140 and with Thunder needing only 40 runs off the last 32 balls, the Renegades came back to trigger a collapse and win the game. Later, the combination of Brad Hodge (3/1 at
Boylesports) and Andrew McDonald stitched together a 124-run stand in the Sixers game to make it two wins in a row.
Shahid Afridi’s coming into his own as a bowler in these two games has played a good part in the side’s resurrection, as has been the comeback of Hodge. Hodge had missed the first two matches and now has scored of 44 and 72 not-out in the next two.
Shane Warne has had a good three games, even having predicted his dismissals on television before sending the opposition batsmen on their way. His batting against Renegades will be one to watch out for.
Melbourne Stars squad
CL White*, GJ Bailey, JW Dernbach, JP Faulkner, PSP Handscomb, JM Holland, DJ Hussey, AR Keath, CJ McKay, JL Pattinson, RJ Quiney, PM Siddle, CP Simpson, AC Voges, MS Wade†, SK Warne, LJ Wright
Melbourne Renegades squad
AB McDonald*, Abdul Razzaq, MJ Buchanan, RGL Carters†, AJ Finch, SM Harwood, AK Heal, JM Herrick, MW Hill, BJ Hodge, BG McDonald, GA Manou, GJ Maxwell, DP Nannes, NJ Reardon, Shahid Afridi, WD Sheridan, SW Tait
The Melbourne Stars v Melbourne Renegades Big Bash League game will begin at 8.00 am GMT on January 7.
