The third match of the BBL11 season will see the Melbourne Renegades host the Adelaide Strikers at Marvel Stadium on Tuesday night. Two teams with plenty to prove to those doubters who left them sitting as the two rank outsiders in the BBL11 Outright Winner betting markets this season.
Both teams have been ravaged through injury and national representation which has thrown their BBL11 campaigns into turmoil before it even had a chance to get started. It might be a long season ahead for the loser of this one! Check out our Renegades vs Strikers preview and BBL betting tips below!
BBL11 Melbourne Renegades vs Adelaide Strikers
Marvel Stadium, Tuesday December 7th, 7:15pm
Melbourne Renegades
Likely XI: Sam Harper, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mackenzie Harvey, Unmukt Chand, Jonathan Merlo, Mohammad Nabi, Will Sutherland, James Pattinson, Cameron Boyce, Kane Richardson, Reece Topley
Australian T20 captain Aaron Finch is the mainstay of the Renegades lineup but a lingering knee injury from the Australian World Cup campaign will leave him on the sidelines in the early stages of the tournament. Fellow veteran Shaun Marsh severely pulled a hamstring, while new recruit and Renegades skipper Nic Maddison is away on Australia A duties.
That has left a massive hole in their batting with young guns Sam Harper, Jake Fraser-McGurk and Mackenzie Harvey set to be thrown to the wolves at the top of the order. Perhaps the injection of youth is what they need after two years of pain and only a collection of wooden spoons for their recent BBL efforts.
Indian recruit Unmukt Chand will be one to watch. As the first Indian to play BBL, there will be plenty of interest, however a recent history of playing in American minor leagues doesn’t inspire much confidence.
Will Sutherland is another to watch this season. He’s promised a lot for many years but his pre-season form has been good as a versatile all-rounder.
English import Reece Topley will help their bowling depth, alongside Kane Richardson and James Pattinson should see them compete well with the ball if there’s enough runs on the board.
Adelaide Strikers
Likely XI: Jake Weatherald, Harry Nielsen, Matthew Short, Jono Wells, Ryan Gibson, Liam Scott, George Garton, Rashid Khan, Wes Agar, Peter Siddle, Daniel Worrall
The Strikers have been similarly cruelled through unavailability. Travis Head was always going to be part of the Australian Test squad, but the call up of Alex Carey was an unfortunate blow for the Strikers after Tim Paine’s withdrawal. Matt Renshaw is also with the Australia A squad. It will create an opportunity for Harry Nielsen to stand up, while Matt Short is likely to also bat up the order. Again the batting looks weak on paper, with a lot resting on Jake Weatherald as the clear class batsman of the match.
While the Strikers’ batting looks weak, bowling will be their strength.
Import George Garton might be the surprise packet of the BBL11 season as an athletic all-rounder who can contribute in all three facets of the game.
Rashid Khan is back to dazzle fans and confuse opposition batsmen, while Peter Siddle, Daniel Worrall and Wes Agar form a solid pace bowling combination. If it looks like a turner, then Fawad Ahmed might also get a run at during the season to form a pretty formiddable spin combination with Rashid Khan.
Match Prediction
Two poor batting teams, with solid bowling attacks, batting in the first game of the season on a Marvel Stadium wicket that has traditionally been difficult to make runs on. It’s not what the fans want to see, but it all points towards a low-scoring contest.
The Renegades are in for a long season, and while the Strikers won’t be much better, they have the clear match-winners of this contest in Weatherald, Garton and Khan, and I expect the Strikers to be too strong.
Same Game Multi
An interesting stat from our BBL data tools (soon to be published on the site for free!) is the boundary hitting ability of Jake Weatherald. Over 55 BBL innings, he averages 2.7 fours and 1.2 sixes per match.
While we're not getting the right price in the fours market, we are in the sixes market as his career record tells us that he's hit at least one six in 53% of games.
Let's combine that with Weatherald to make 10+ runs, along with the ever-consistent Jono Wells to do the same in our Same Game Multi.
Jake Weatherald to hit a six
Jake Weatherald to score 10+ runs
Jono Wells to score 10+ runs
