It’s an absolute must-win clash for the winless Renegades and the Sixers can consolidate their position in the top 4. So the stakes will be high at Marvel Stadium. After the first game of the season at Marvel, we should be looking at a very low scoring affair considering this is the slowest outfield in BBL. So the bowling lineups for either side will be an important factor to watch at the coin-toss.
For the Renegades, Gurney has returned to England for his Brother’s wedding and Tom Andrews has been included in the squad as a result. A massive injury blow for the Sixers will see Sean Abbott on the sidelines for the next few weeks. In more positive news, Steve O’Keefe and James Vince should return from injury on Thursday night.
Melbourne Renegades Squad (13): Aaron Finch(c), Tom Andrews, Cameron Boyce, Dan Christian, Tom Cooper, Richard Gleeson, Sam Harper, Marcus Harris, Shaun Marsh, Joe Mennie, Kane Richardson, Will Sutherland, Beau Webster
Sydney Sixers Squad (13): Moises Henriques(c), Jackson Bird, Tom Curran, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Mickey Edwards, Dan Hughes, Ben Manenti, Steve O'Keefe, Josh Philippe, Lloyd Pope, Jordan Silk, James Vince
Renegades vs Sixers Betting Tips
Renegades
It was another disappointing defeat for the Renegades last Sunday as they went down to the Strikers by 18 runs. Which will forever be remembered for a certain Umpire’s not out decision. But in the end, the Renegades suffered another batting collapse after Finch’s bizarre run-out. They simply don’t have the batting depth in the middle order so it’ll be up to the likes of Finch and Marsh to score the majority of runs again. Despite a poor season, Aaron Finch has been in great touch with the bat after back to back half-centuries and he hasn’t been dismissed for under 28 runs.
The Marvel Stadium outfield is basically a bowler’s paradise at the moment so the Renegades need to capitalise with the bowling of Richardson and Boyce. With Gurney out for this clash, it opens the door for Sutherland to play a bigger role and they may opt to play spinner Tom Andrews. Gleeson has been pretty disappointing thus far and it shows how important Shinwari was for the ‘Gades last season. They’ve also dropped out of form batsman Tom Cooper and Dan Christian hasn’t offered much with bat/ball.
Aaron Finch OVER 25.5 Runs
$1.88
Sixers
Firstly, what a performance by Tom Curran for the Sixers in the Sydney derby as he starred with the bat/ball in the Super Over victory. They looked dead and buried at 6/122 but Curran produced a brilliant 35 off 17 ball knock to tie the scores. He then bowled the Sixers to victory in the Super Over. So he’ll be a key factor in this clash with the Renegades, especially with no Abbott.
The Sixers top-order has struggled to get going lately as Philippe has been held in check during the powerplay and they’ll hope to get James Vince back from injury. But with Hughes and Henriques back in-form, they’re middle order looks very solid during the middle overs. They’ll look to get on top of the ‘Gades struggling bowling attack besides Richardson and Boyce on this usually slow outfield. While in the bowling department, Sean Abbott is a huge loss (11 wickets this season) but the welcome return of Steve O’Keefe is a bonus. He should be hard to get away on this pitch. The same can be said for Lloyd Pope after his 3 wicket performance against the Thunder on Saturday night.
Tom Curran OVER 36.5 Points
$1.88
Prediction
It’s basically season over for the Renegades if they lose this one and the injury to Sixers star bowler Sean Abbott will sway us to back the home side to finally break their duck. They won both meetings with the Sixers in BBL08 and should be able to ride the performances of Finch/Marsh/Richardson to victory.
