Blundstone Arena will host a bottle of the table BBL clash on Saturday night with the Hobart Hurricanes taking on the Melbourne Renegades.
Both teams are winless at this early stage of the competition, so a win is the best Christmas present that either side could ask for.
We'll have a heap of BBL13 content for you this season including BBL tips for every match and regular fantasy BBL for contests on Draftstars to help you land the big cash in the $50,000 Big Bash Star 2024 Final!
Draftstars have put up a huge $20,000 contest for this clash, as well as a Big Bash Star Qualifier.
Additionally, make sure to check out our full Hurricanes vs Renegades preview and betting tips!
BIG BASH LEAGUE (BBL13) FANTASY TIPS: HURRICANES VS RENEGADES
Renegades Squad: Nic Maddinson, Will Sutherland, Joe Clarke, Aaron Finch, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mackenzie Harvey, Quinton de Kock, Fergus O'Neill, Kane Richardson, Tom Rogers, Peter Siddle, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Jon Wells, Adam Zampa
Hurricanes Squad: Nathan Ellis, Corey Anderson, Ian Carlisle, Nikhil Chaudhary, Tim David, Patrick Dooley, Liam Guthrie, Sam Hain, Peter Hatzoglou, Sam Heazlett, Caleb Jewell, Chris Jordan, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Mitch Owen, Billy Stanlake, Matthew Wade, Mac Wright
The Hurricanes will be desperate to get on the board on Saturday after losing their opening two fixtures to the Sydney Sixers and Perth Scorchers.
Both those previous opponents will likely challenge for the title, so it’s not panic stations yet for Hobart, but it’s crucial that they start to climb up the table by winning games against lesser opponents.
Key players Matthew Wade and Riley Meredith were missing against Perth, and they should return on Saturday, strengthening the XI considerably.
The Melbourne Renegades are also 0-2, although they have likewise faced stiff opposition in the Sixers and Brisbane Heat.
Several players across the line-up have underperformed thus far – De Kock, Clarke, Maddinson, Rogersand Richardson have all failed to fire.
Jake Fraser-McGurk, on the other hand, is one of the hottest properties in the league at the moment, having struck 103 runs in quick time from just two innings.
If some of the others can lift their game, I have no doubt that the men in red can recover to secure a finals berth, but that shift has to happen quickly.
Fantasy Plays
Love It – Jake Fraser-McGurk ($18,800)
After a couple of rounds we now have some data to work with, and that data tells us that JFM is one of the form batsmen in the competition. The young Victorian is playing fearless cricket at the moment, and it is paying off – he has hit 10 sixes in just two innings, and is averaging 92 DFS points. I’m all for picking the man in form on this slate, especially considering the struggles of other batters here.
Love It – Caleb Jewell ($12,700)
Like Fraser-McGurk, Jewell looks to be full of confidence at the moment, and it shone through in the opening round when he smashed 42 off 24 balls. Jewell always get the opportunity to perform at the top of the order, and his low asking price of $12.7k makes him a low risk selection.
Don’t Love It – Quinton De Kock ($18,000)
De Kock is an absolute star of the white ball game, however he has struggled for runs since dominating the ODI World Cup. A lack of runs in the ILT20 competition was followed by a duck in De Kock’s first BBL appearance, so I’m hesitant to lock $18k into the dynamic left-hander until I see him perform on Australian soil.
Don’t Love It – Aaron Finch ($11,900)
Finch is not the player he used to be, and that has been evident in his output so far this BBL. An average of just 18 DFS points is reflective of both Finch’s form and role, given that he is down at five these days. At under $10k I’d be interested, but nearly $12k is too much to pay for a bit part player.
Who Knows – Chris Jordan ($13,600)
Jordan is best known for his bowling and fielding exploits, but his performance with the bat stole the headlines on Wednesday. The English import hit a game changing 59 off 20 balls, now he looks to be a genuine all-rounder option. However, we can’t expect knocks like that every game.
Suggested Draftstars Lineup
