BBL action heads to Marvel Stadium for the first time this season as the Renegades host their crosstown rivals, the Melbourne Stars. Despite a late wobble, it was a comfortable victory for the Stars on Sunday in the first Melbourne derby of the season. Led by 43 from Marcus Stoinis and 3/24 from Liam Hatcher, the Stars have sent an ominous warning to the competition over their past two games. The Renegades once again fell apart with the bat after a good start, failing to capitalise on a 78 run partnership between Shaun Marsh and Sam Harper. With the Thunder’s loss to the Hurricanes, the Stars have a golden opportunity to jump into second place on the table. See our full preview and betting tips for Wednesday night’s clash below.
Big Bash League (BBL10): Renegades vs Stars Betting Tips
Marvel Stadium, Wednesday January 20, 7:15pm
Melbourne Renegades Squad: Aaron Finch, Noor Ahmad, Zak Evans, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sam Harper, Mackenzie Harvey, Peter Hatzoglou, Josh Lalor, Shaun Marsh, Mitch Perry, Jack Prestwidge, Kane Richardson, Brayden Stepien, Will Sutherland, Imad Wasim, Beau Webster
Melbourne Stars Squad: Glenn Maxwell, Hilton Cartwright, Sam Elliott, Andre Fletcher, Seb Gotch, Liam Hatcher, Clint Hinchliffe, Nick Larkin, Lance Morris, Tom O’Connell, Sam Rainbird, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa, Ed Newman, Zahir Khan, James Seymour
Match Prediction
The Stars weren’t at their absolute best on Sunday, but they looked in total control for the majority of the game against the Renegades. After Shaun Marsh’s dismissal, Zahir Khan (2/23) and Adam Zampa (1/24) dominated the middle overs, as the Renegades lost 9/72 after being 1/78. The Stars spinners were dominated against the young Renegades middle order, who have struggled against spin all season. The only question surrounding the Stars will be their pace stocks,after Haris Rauf was called up to the Pakistan Test side, the paceman will miss the rest of the season. While they won’t have any issues against the Renegades, can Billy Stanlake and Liam Hatcher hold together the attack against the top sides?
The Stars have had their way against the Renegades across the BBL with a 14-5 head to head advantage, but their record at Marvel Stadium is even more impressive. The Stars are 7-1 in home and away fixtures at Marvel Stadium, the Stars have a home ground advantage at the MCG, but the same cannot be said about the Renegades. Aaron Finch is terribly out of form and his recent record against the Stars doesn’t provide much hope of a turn around. In his last four games against the Stars, Finch has scored 52 runs at an average of 13, with scores of 0, 25,13 and 14. This Renegades side doesn’t have a chance if he can’t get a big score.
The Stars were excellent after the first ten overs on Sunday, and they’ll be looking for a complete performance over the forty overs on Wednesday. Marcus Stoinis (43), Nick Larkin (43) and Glenn Maxwell (20) all got starts, if one of their top four can go on and get a big score, the Stars are going to be tough to beat. As we saw on Sunday night, the Stars simply have too much talent for this struggling Renegades side who look incredibly low on confidence and clarity in their roles. With a chance to jump into second place, expect the Stars to put in a big performance.
Renegades Prop Bet
Young gun Mackenzie Harvey has shown plenty of potential with the bat this season. Harvey has scored 106 runs at an average of 21, with an impressive strike rate of 132. Harvey has gotten starts in three of his last four innings with scores of 34, 20 and a brutal 29 off 17 against the Stars on Sunday where he looked like he was going to take the game away from the Stars in the power surge.
With Aaron Finch struggling and Sam Harper struggling for consistency this season, it’s hard to have any faith in the Renegades producing scores at the top. Harvey has been fearless at the crease this season, and looks ready to explode for a big score. At $6.50, Harvey is an excellent value choice as the Renegades top run scorer.
Harvey Top REN Runscorer
$6.50
Stars Prop Bet
Marcus Stoinis continued his dominance over the Renegades on Sunday, scoring 43 off 32 to lead the Stars to victory. Stoinis has now scored 375 runs against the Renegades, more than any current Stars player in Melbourne derbies. Stoinis has scored 322 runs at an average of 107 in his last six innings against their crosstown rivals. Stoinis has only been dismissed three times in that six innings stretch, it’s clear to see the Renegades don’t have a way to stop Stoinis.
Stoinis has scored 333 runs this season at a strike rate of 144, to be the fourth highest run scorer in the competition. He’s gone under the radar with the Stars struggling through the middle of the season, but Stoinis has been one of the best batsmen in the Big Bash over the last few seasons and this season is no different. He loves the big stage in the derby, and you can expect another big score from Stoinis.
Stoinis Top STA Runscorer
$3.10
