Five takes from Perth Scorchers vs Melbourne Renegades

The Scorchers beat the Renegades in a a thriller at the WACA last night with one ball to spare. Here are my five main takeaways.

1. Scorchers run down huge total  
The Perth Scorchers keep rewriting their own record books, as they chased down a score last night against the Melbourne Renegades at the WACA to go into outright first position on the table.

Perth chased down an imposing total of 186, with a ball to spare, for the loss of five wickets, thanks largely to a powerful 70 from 32 balls from Ashton Turner, and 55 from opener David Willey.

Earlier in the night, the Renegades had been propelled by Cameron White’s unbeaten 68 and a late blitzkrieg from Tom Cooper, who made 57 from just 34 balls. The win sees Perth go to 5-1, while the Renegades remain firmly entrenched in the top four at 4-2. 
 
2. Turner continues to impress  
Ashton Turner made his T20 international debut in February 2017 against Sri Lanka, and he would have to be a genuine chance of adding to those caps this summer. Of course, when Turner debuted the Test side was preparing in India, so this time around he would have to usurp several big names. However, on current form Turner is a matchwinner, last night scoring 70 from 32 balls.

A bit like Chris Lynn, he appears to find it easier to clear the ropes than hit fours at times, and last night he walloped five 6s to just three 4s. Turner is one of the hardest hitters of the ball in the country, however it wasn’t all brute power, with some outstanding running between wickets and a couple of well-executed ramp shots off Jake Wildermuth. 

3. Richardson’s struggles continue  
A penny for Jhye Richardson’s thoughts right now, after taking the combined figures of 1/144 from three BBL07 games since being called into the Australian ODI side as somewhat of a bolter.

There is no doubting Richardson’s potential with his ability to bowl over 145 km, however, at times he appears to have no plan and simply tries to bowl as quickly as possible, resulting in batsmen enjoying the skiddy type of pace. The Renegades sent him to all parts last night, as Richardson went for 55 from four overs.

It’s a speculative pick, however one thing you can’t coach is speed and, at 21 years of age, Richardson would be close to the fastest bowler in the country. However through 17 T20 games, he has conceded over nine runs per over.  

(AAP Image/Richard Wainwright)

 
4. Cooper ignites Renegades  
Tom Cooper, alongside Ashton Turner, is one of the few middle order batsmen really making their mark in BBL07. Cooper has only had three innings, given the Renegades’ dominance at times, but has produced 143 runs and been dismissed just twice.

Last night, Cooper rode his luck, and struggled early to 15 from 21 balls before unleashing an astonishing 42 runs from his finals 12 balls to give the Renegades the momentum heading into the second innings. Cooper produced a catalogue of incredible reverse-laps and scoop-ramps to the fast bowlers, after initially ramping the ball into his own head earlier in the innings.

With fine leg and third man up in the circle sometimes this year, I have thought middle order players have struggled to counter the bowlers’ tactics. However, Copper made the usually disciplined Scorchers look ragged last night, as he was particularly harsh on Jhye Richardson and Andrew Tye. 
 
5. Unhappy farewell for Hogg  
There were plenty of emotions for Brad Hogg last night in what will likely be the final game for the 46-year-old at his longtime home at the WACA. However, he couldn’t have had a worse farewell, dropping a catch and seeing his final ball officially going for 13 runs thanks to a no-ball and two straight sixers from the last delivery of his fourth over, which swung all the momentum back to the Scorchers late in their run chase.

Hogg had actually been outstanding before that fateful final couple of balls, claiming 1/25 from 3.5 overs, as he showed he remains a skilful competitor in a side that still have great hopes challenging for a title.