BBL13 is back after the shortest of Christmas breaks, and the Perth Scorchers will be out to continue their dominant start to the season when they host the lowly Melbourne Renegades on Tuesday night.
As usual, the Scorchers have set the benchmark in this edition of the BBL, so the Renegades will have to summon something special to overcome a 0-3 start to the campaign.
Josh Nevett provides his full match preview and betting tips below.
BBL13 Scorchers vs Renegades Betting Tips
Optus Stadium, Tuesday 26th December, 9:15pm (AEDT)
Perth Scorchers
Perth’s title defence has been flawless so far, with the Scorchers recording two comprehensive victories.
A seven-wicket win over the Stars was followed by a nine-wicket thrashing of the Hurricanes last Wednesday, underlining the superiority of this super team.
Jason Behrendorff leads the BBL13 wicket taker chart after a four-wicket haul against Hobart, while the likes of Hardie, Inglis and Crawley look likely to rank among the top batters.
In devastating news for Scorchers faithful, captain Ashton Turner will miss the rest of the tournament after suffering a knee injury while bowling against Hobart.
As such, a slightly different looking Perth outfit will take on the Renegades. I’m expecting it to be a case of one batter out, one batter in, so Nick Hobson may get another chance in the middle order.
Predicted XI: Zak Crawley, Cooper Connolly, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis, Laurie Evans, Nick Hobson, Ashton Agar, Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff, Lance Morris
Melbourne Renegades
I had high hopes for the Renegades in the lead up to BBL13, but the men in red have massively underperformed in their three completed fixtures so far.
Losses against the Sixers, Heat and Hurricanes have the Renegades floundering in seventh position on the table, above only their Melbourne rivals, the Stars.
Unfortunately for the players, coaches and fans, there is no easy fix, as both the bowlers and batting group have failed to fire.
Big money Quinton De Kock showed glimpses of his brilliance against the Hurricanes with 38 off 22, but the Renegades need him to make a big score or two rather than produce entertaining cameos.
The same can be said of Joe Clarke and Nic Maddinson, two classy operators who have been slow out of the blocks.
Jake Fraser-McGurk has been the shining light from a batting perspective (103 runs @ 34), but Melbourne would be foolish to place all their hopes on a 21-year-old who is still finding his way.
On the bowling front, despite having a talented array of options on paper, the Renegades have been just as disappointing. Opposition teams have regularly pushed 180-190, as experienced stars Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson have fallen short of their usual high standards.
As such, improvement is required right across the playing XI if the Renegades are to recover and challenge for a finals berth.
Predicted XI: Clarke (wk), De Kock, Fraser-McGurk, Maddinson, Finch, Wells, Sutherland, Rogers, Richardson, Zampa, Ur Rahman
Match Prediction
Unsurprisingly, the Scorchers are hot favourites here, and it’s tough to make a case for the Renegades.
Perth are undefeated and have not lost to the Renegades since 2020. Furthermore, the Scorchers will enjoy a home ground advantage here.
Although the absence of skipper Ashton Turner will leave a huge hole, both in terms of leadership and batting depth, the Scorchers still have more than enough firepower to get the job done in this Boxing Day fixture.
Perth Scorchers to Win
$1.52 (3 Units)
Same Game Multi
Jason Behrendorff is the top wicket taker in BBL13 with seven scalps, at an average of three per game. The Renegades have been fragile with the bat so far this campaign, so Perth’s spearhead should take at least one wicket here.
In BBL13, the first wicket in each Renegades batting innings has been caught, while the same has been true in 2/3 Scorchers games, making this leg a great multi booster.
Match Betting – Perth Scorchers
Player to Take 1+ Wickets – Jason Behrendorff
Method of First Dismissal – 1st Innings – Caught
