This is the third in the line of the previews to the Big Bash League teams this season that starts from December 20.
The two Melbourne sides, Renegades and Stars, will hope to go the distance as I look at whether they possess the potential to do that.
Melbourne Renegades
The Melbourne Renegades had an amazing run in the previous edition of the Big Bash League, winning seven out of the eight games in the group stage of the competition.
The wins stemmed out of captain Aaron Finch’s aggressive batting displays that saw him hit a century and a half-century for his 332 runs at an average of 66.40 with Ben Rohrer also chipping in with another near-300.
Unfortunately for the Renegades, Finch chose the wrong day to falter with the bat, and by contrast Luke Pomersbach of the Heat selected a perfect setting to lambast the Renegades bowling and score a century.
What the Renegades will hope for this season is for entire team to chip in with contributions instead of situation last year when there was definite over-reliance on the aforementioned pair.
Finch will continue to lead the side but could be whisked away when the ODIs between Australia and England begin in January, which is when things could get tough for the Renegades.
Coached by former Victorian and Sunrisers Hyderabad assistant coach Simon Helmot, the Renegades have a few interesting choices up their sleeves.
Pakistan T20 captain Mohammad Hafeez will be one of their overseas players who will join them after the first two games while England’s Jos Buttler will be around for the first few games before joining the English ODI side.
Muttiah Muralitharan, who picked up 11 wickets at 17.34 last season for the Renegades, will be there throughout the tournament as well.
It will be interesting to see whether quick bowler James Pattinson can recover in time from his injury to join the Renegades for the opener while likes of Tom Cooper, Alex Doolan and Fawad Ahmed will be the others to watch out.
Peter Siddle has already been ruled out of side’s first few games because of his national commitments but will he return to play in the BBL once the Ashes series is complete or will he prefer to rest before the start of the tour of South Africa?
Melbourne Renegades squad
Aaron Finch (c), Tom Cooper, Alex Doolan, Fawad Ahmed, Jayde Herrick, Daniel Harris, Michael Hill, Muttiah Muralitharan, Peter Nevill, Aaron O’Brien, James Pattinson, Nathan Rimmington, William Sheridan, Ben Rohrer, Peter Siddle.
Melbourne Stars
On paper, the Melbourne Stars will go into this edition’s Big Bash League with one of the best line-ups and as such will be the favourites to go the distance.
But we have often seen in this format, the tag remains as just that and the best team is the one which plays that one game better than their opponents – the final.
Still, the Stars, even without captain Shane Warne in their midst, have a squad to beat and it would be highly surprising if they didn’t make it to the last four – if not the final.
An in-form Cameron White is back as the captain of the side after having relinquished the job in favour of Shane Warne last season.
White, incidentally, is no longer the captain of the Victorian Sheffield Shield and Ryobi Cup sides as well, allowing him to focus solely on his batting – in turn, propelling him to the top of the charts in both other forms of the game.
Coach Greg Shipperd will hope they can push one up from their two semi-final appearances in the previous editions of the BBL, and he certainly has the arsenal to do that.
White aside, he has a dazzling batting line-up consisting of Brad Hodge, Rob Quiney, David Hussey and Glenn Maxwell, while Matthew Wade, another one wanting to make an Australian comeback, keeps wickets.
By way of their overseas players, hard-hitting batsman Luke Wright and one of the best T20 bowlers in Lasith Malinga make it to the side.
While Clint McKay could be called up for national duties once the Australian ODI begin, the Stars have Jackson Bird to back him up with John Hastings and Clive Rose filling up the bowling department.
Melbourne Stars squad
Cameron White (c), Jackson Bird, Peter Handscomb, James Faulkner, John Hastings, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Alex Keath, Lasith Malinga, Clint McKay, Glenn Maxwell, Rob Quiney, Clive Rose, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Daniel Worrallm, Luke Wright.
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