The Renegades belted the winless Sixers by eight wickets in Geelong last night. Here are my five main takeaways.
1. Renegades destroy Sixers
The Melbourne Renegades cemented their spot in second place on the BBL07 table after an eight-wicket demolition of the Sydney Sixers in Geelong last night. Aaron Finch and Cameron White made light work of a paltry total of 8/111 from the winless Sixers, the win being achieved in the 16th over as the Renegades achieved their third victory in four games.
Finch returned to form with a bruising 51, while White continued his great season with 49 not out. Earlier in the night, the Sixers never really got going, with only 32 not out from captain Johan Botha adding some respectability to the score. The Sixers have now lost their opening five games and are out of the finals race already.
2. Finch returns to form
Aaron Finch bounced back to form with a bang last night with his 51 from 38 balls, which included six fours and two sixes. Despite opening BBL07 with three scores in single digits, Finch is a headstrong character and was never going to go into his shell. That’s why he is one of the best in the world in this format, and a key cog in the Renegades’ side.
However, with Finch being named in the Australian ODI side, it will be up to Cameron White to take the reins, and he continued his imperious form last night.
(AAP Image/Julian Smith)
3. Bravo key in title hopes
Last season, the Renegades faded from contention late with a series of close losses in high-scoring games. It was clear they dearly missed veteran all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, who badly tore a hamstring early in the tournament and was forced out of the series.
This year, Bravo has been outstanding, taking 11 wickets in just four games at a remarkable average of nine and an economy rate of seven. So much of T20 cricket is about effective changes of pace, and the ability to bowl four or five different balls every over, and there are not too many in the world better at that than Bravo.
4. Sixers playing with no confidence
The Sixers’ struggles were highlighted last night with a sluggish opening ten overs like we rarely see in Big Bash cricket. A score of 3/40 after halfway through their innings meant the Sixers were effectively out of the contest before the match even got going.
The drop-in surface looked very good for batting, however the Sixers looked like a side totally devoid of confidence and intent in their batting. This team is lacking in leadership, and in real unity, and it’s starting to show on the field this year. Nic Maddinson and Jason Roy, usually extremely aggressive boundary hitters, both played subdued innings as if the weight of the world was on their shoulders.
(Photo: Sydney Sixers)
5. Roy’s woes continue
Jason Roy averages 36 for England through 48 ODIs at a strike rate over 100. That’s good going for any international opening batsman, so he is obviously a very talented player. However, he has really struggled for the Sixers since signing on last season as one of their overseas players.
This year, he has just 53 runs at an average of 10.6 and, if he were a local player, would surely have been dropped by now. Roy looked like he was trying too hard to be responsible last night, painfully making five from 13 balls before falling.
It’s easy to say and hard to do, but the best Roy could probably do now is care as little as possible, and play as loosely as possible, and maybe he could have a change of fortunes.
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