For the second time in a week the Melbourne Renegades take on the Brisbane Heat, as BBL12 heads to Geelong. Can the Renegades move to 3-0? Or will the Heat bounce back and get their first win of the season?
Jack Tobin has you covered with his preview for Renegades vs Heat, and head to our BBL Betting Tips for previews on every game of BBL12!
BBL12 Renegades vs Heat Preview & Betting Tips
GMHBA Stadium, Wednesday 21st December, 7:15pm (AEDT)
Melbourne Renegades
Predicted XI: Sam Harper, Nic Maddinson, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Finch, Jonathan Wells, Andre Russell, Will Sutherland, Tom Rogers, Kane Richardson, Akeal Hosein, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
An Aaron Finch masterclass dragged the Renegades over the line on Sunday night in a thrilling final over victory against the Thunder. Finch controlled the chase in his new role at number 4, before exploding late to finish on 70* from 43 deliveries to get the Renegades home with a ball to spare. The Renegades have stuck with the same eleven for their opening two games and with no injuries, they will most likely stick with the same side again.
Skipper Nic Maddinson has led the Renegades resurgence from the front, with knocks of 87 and 39 from the first two games of the season. Maddinson is the leading run scorer in the tournament with 126 runs at an average of 63, with a strike rate of 163. Maddinson dominated the power play and power surge overs against the Heat last week, which was the difference in the game.
The spin duo of Akeal Hosein (3/15) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (0/28) strangled the Heat at Cazaly’s Stadium. Hosein has opened the bowling for the Renegades in both games this season, and looms as the key for the Renegades attack. The Renegades conceded some huge scores in the power play last season, however the addition of Hosein has allowed the Renegades to gain some control early in games with the ball.
Brisbane Heat
Likely XI: Max Bryant, Josh Brown, Colin Munro, Sam Billings, Jimmy Peirson, Ross Whiteley, James Bazley, Xavier Bartlett, Mark Steketee, Matt Kuhnemann, Mitch Swepson
The Heat have played just the one game so far in BBL12, which was a 22 run defeat to the Renegades last Thursday. It was a frustrating night for the Heat who had control of the game at points during both innings. After the Renegades got off to a red hot start, the Heat took 4/13 to reduce the Renegades to 4/78. However poor bowling through the middle overs saw the Renegades put up 7/166, despite some excellent death bowling.
With the bat, Colin Munro and Jimmy Pierson had put on a 55 run partnership to have the Heat right in the game, before Munro ran himself out and they never got close. The Heat struggled badly during the overs with the field up, as James Bazely and Mitchell Swepson conceded 36 runs during the Power Surge. Across the 4 power play overs and the two Power Surge overs, the Heat conceded 86 runs.
Despite the changes the Heat made in the off season to bring more balance to their batting unit, the same issues that have plagued them for years reared their head again in their season opener. Three of the Heat’s top four batsmen in Max Bryant (0), Josh Brown (7) and Sam Billings (6) combined for only thirteen runs. The Renegades will likely go spin heavy at the top of the order again, and the Heat will need to be vastly better if they’re a chance to win this fixture.
Match Prediction
Despite being one of the poorest performing franchises across this history of the Big Bash, the Renegades have loved playing against the Brisbane Heat. Across 18 meetings, the Renegades hold a 12-6 advantage, and have won the last two clashes between the two sides.
Having won their two games in different fashion, the Renegades look like an outfit that can win games in multiple ways. The positive for the Renegades is that there’s still plenty of scope for improvement, with Jon Wells and Will Sutherland yet to have much of an impact through the opening two games. The Renegades are a tough team to trust, however they look like a different side this season, with a much more talented list. The Heat have been victims of the schedule being the only team at this stage to only play one game, and coming up against a Renegades side that has momentum, it’s going to be a tough task.
Melbourne Renegades
$1.60 (1.5 Units)
BBL12 Same Game Multi
We’re going with a Renegades flavour with the same game multi, starting with their skipper Nic Maddinson. With scores of 87 and 39 to start the season, Maddinson is in red hot form and he’s performed strongly against the Heat in recent seasons. Maddinson has hit the 15 run mark in his last three games against the Heat, with scores of 87, 22* and 19. Not only is Maddinson scoring runs, he’s clearing the boundary with ease. Our BBL Data Tools show that Maddinson has hit 3 sixes in each of his two innings this season. To round out the same game multi, we’ve got Akeal Hosein to take a wicket. Hosein was all over the Heat last week, taking 3/15 from 4 overs. The Heat have consistently struggled against spin bowling over the years, and Hosein is an excellent chance to take wickets early in the power play.
Nic Maddinson 15+ Runs
Nic Maddinson 1+ Six
Akeal Hosein 1+ Wicket
