The Hurricanes and Renegades kick off their Big Bash campaign in Hobart when they lock horns tonight. Both sides will be looking to rebound after disappointing campaigns in BBL06 saw them miss the finals.
The Prophet had a winning last night to improve his record to 1-1, can he go back-to-back tonight in Hobart?
Head-to-head history: Melbourne Renegades 4, Hobart Hurricanes 2
Last five: Melbourne Renegades 4, Hobart Hurricanes 1
Hobart Hurricanes squad
George Bailey (C), Dan Christian, Hamish Kingston, Cameron Boyce, Clive Rose, Ben McDermott, Tymal Mills, D’Arcy Short, Jofra Archer, Matthew Wade, Nathan Reardon, Alex Doolan, Aaron Summers
Melbourne Renegades squad
Aaron Finch (c) Dwayne Bravo, Tom Cooper, Marcus Harris, Brad Hodge, Brad Hogg, Tim Ludeman, Mohammad Nabi, Kane Richardson, Matt Short, Chris Tremain, Cameron White, Jack Wildermuth.
Preview
The winds of change have swept through both the Hurricanes and Renegades as two underperforming BBL franchises look to turn things around in BBL07.
The Hurricanes have missed the finals in each of the past three seasons and are now under new management with the experienced and highly-respected Gary Kirsten given the task of turning around a squad perhaps without the class of others.
The Renegades were dominant at times last season but lost a number of close games as their fast bowling was ripped apart and they missed the finals on differential. Both sides will be debuting overseas players with Tymil Mills and Jofra Archer for the Hurricanes up against Mohammad Nabi for the Renegades.
Renegades captain Aaron Finch with teammates. (AAP Image/Joe Castro)
Big batting battle – George Bailey vs Aaron Finch
The two skippers have had decorated careers for Australia in white ball cricket and, while Bailey has fallen out of favour, both remain very good white ball players.
Both were prolific in BBL06, with Finch finishing with 354 runs at 44 with a strike rate of 160, while Bailey chimed in with 247 runs at 49 at a strike rate of 132.
Needless to say, the opposition will have been doing plenty of scouting and will know the wicket of the opposing skipper will be key towards the fortunes of this game.
Big bowling battle – Tymal Mills v Kane Richardson
I have singled out Mills and Richardson as they are both big name signings who have been brought in to try and lead their team’s pace attack. Both sides struggled for impact in the bowling powerplay all year, however, both Mills and Richardson are capable of bowling at good pace, but can be expensive if not at their best.
With both being on debut at their franchises tonight they will be desperate to impress.
Ground dynamic
Bluestone Arena can be a graveyard for bowlers when the wicket is true. They usually play on one side of the square, meaning there is a prohibitively short square boundary little more than 40 metres on one side of the field.
Expect the spinner to be bowling with the leg side being the longer side to hit to, and the pace bowlers to have to run the gauntlet with the shorter leg side boundary. Down the ground is longer, so I expect teams to try and bowl a fuller length than at some other grounds.
The prophet’s pick (1-1): Melbourne Renegades
“Expect the ‘Cane Train’ to derail again this year as they offer up a doughnut for their fans. The ‘Gades have too much class for this mob and will be getting the chocolates here and looking for a decent bar in Hobart to celebrate afterwards”
The Prophet’s ten-unit bank (running tally = -7.9 units)
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