It’s Melbourne derby time in the BBL, with the Stars and Renegades coming together for another huge clash at the MCG!
Seasoned stars Aaron Finch and Marcus Stoinis are back in form for their respective sides and ready to light it up for the fans, so with both franchises in contention for a finals spot in this edition, expect plenty of fireworks on Tuesday night.
Josh Nevett provides his full match preview and cricket betting tips below.
BBL12 Stars vs Renegades Preview & Betting Tips
MCG, Tuesday 3rd December, 7:15pm (AEDT)
Melbourne Stars
Predicted XI: Joe Clarke, Nick Larkin, Beau Webster, Marcus Stoinis, Hilton Cartwright, Campbell Kellaway, James Seymour, Luke Wood, Liam Hatcher, Trent Boult, Adam Zampa
The Stars arrested their worrying slide with an impressive win over the Adelaide Strikers on New Year’s Eve, leaving them within striking distance of the finals positions.
Struggling superstar Marcus Stoinis was the hero, belting 74 off 35 balls in a return to form as the Stars amassed a total of 186.
It proved to be a winning score as Liam Hatcher (2-29) and Adam Zampa (1-25) held their nerve to get the Stars over the line.
With two wins from six matches, finals are still a possibility for the Stars, but they will need Stoinis to kick on and lead from the front in their remaining matches.
Unfortunately for the team in green, Nathan Coulter-Nile is likely to miss a second game with a hamstring injury, so Hatcher will have to back up his performance in Adelaide with another strong effort against the Renegades.
Melbourne Renegades
Predicted XI: Martin Guptill, Sam Harper, Shaun Marsh, Aaron Finch, Jono Wells, McKenzie Harvey, Akeal Hosein, Will Sutherland, Tom Rogers, Kane Richardson, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Things went from bad to worse for the Renegades against the Scorchers.
As well as losing their fourth game on the trot, the Renegades lost Nic Maddinson to an ACL injury and Peter Handscomb to heatstroke, leaving them light on for depth heading into this game.
Maddinson will be out for an extended period while Handscomb is also a chance to miss, so the Renegades may need to call on the likes of Sam Harper to complete their batting line-up.
The times are getting desperate for the Renegades to turn things around, especially given that they haven’t scored more than 160 in four games.
Aaron Finch managed 65 off 48 balls the other day, but he needs far more assistance from Guptill, Marsh and Wells, who all have runs on the board in this format.
With Akeal Hosein and Mujeeb Ur Rahman leaving for the ILT20 shortly, the time is now for the men in red to bank some points.
Match Prediction
The Melbourne derby is always a big occasion, and it takes on extra significance this time around with both teams in finals contention.
The Stars are favourites after their upset win on Saturday night and it’s not hard to see why – the Renegades just aren’t making enough runs and an in-form Stoinis is a scary prospect for their bowlers.
While the Stars have hardly been consistent this campaign, Clarke and Stoinis are a formidable duo and skipper Adam Zampa loves bowling on the open spaces of the MCG.
Further, the Renegades will have less firepower to roll out after the loss of Maddinson.
It is for those reasons that I’m predicting a Stars victory in this instalment of the green vs red battle.
Melbourne Stars
$1.77 (2 Units)
Same Game Multi
One area where the Stars will have a big advantage on Tuesday is striking power. Clarke, Stoinis, Webster and Cartwright are all more than capable of clearing the fence, while the Renegades will rely heavily on Guptill and Finch. Regardless of the result, back the Stars to score more maximums.
This bet has been a great multi booster all season. The first wicket of the first innings was caught in both the Stars and Renegades’ most recent matches. You can get great odds here for it to happen again.
Rinse and repeat. The same theory applies to the second innings and this bet saluted in each team’s most recent encounter.
Most Sixers – Melbourne Stars
Method of First Dismissal 1st Innings - Caught
Method of First Dismissal 2nd Innings – Caught
