Basketball
AFL
Cricket
Horse Racing
NRL
Soccer
Tennis
All Sports
American Football
Baseball
Boxing
Betting Masterclass
Cycling
Entertainment
eSports
Golf
Greyhounds
Harness
Ice Hockey
Motor Sport
Novelties
Olympics
Politics
Promotions
Rugby Union
Snooker
Table Tennis
UFC / MMA
After five straight losses, reigning champions Melbourne Renegades travel to the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) to take on the Melbourne Stars in a do-or-die situation.
The Stars have four wins out of five and that includes a nervy three-wicket win over Sydney Thunder on Thursday. The only team to defeat the Stars this season is the Adelaide Strikers.
The Renegades have lost their first five matches of the season, which includes an agonising six-wicket loss to the Sydney Sixers in their most recent game.
Melbourne Stars
Marcus Stoinis (213 runs, SR 122.41) continues to lead the runs tally for the Stars in his new avatar as a specialist batsman. The opener hasn’t got that much support, with just Glenn Maxwell (129 runs, SR 186.95) among the runs. The Stars’ middle-order collapse against the Thunder, which nearly saw them choke, remains a concern.
Haris Rauf continues to defy conventional wisdom and has 10 wickets to his name. That is the most any Big Bash player has taken in his first three matches and that makes dropping him a real tough one. Adam Zampa remains the closest to him in terms of impact with seven wickets, although the Stars do not have nagging concerns with their bowling.
Melbourne Renegades
Beau Webster continues to impress for the Renegades (148 runs, SR 146.53), which is a big positive and support for Aaron Finch. New recruit Shaun Marsh (190 runs, SR 118.75) continues to be their best chance to stick together a fight.
Bowling has been all about the pace-spin duo of Kane Richardson (eight wickets, ER 6.05) and Cameron Boyce (six points, ER 7.20). That remains a concern too, especially with their overseas stars struggling for wickets this season.
Match Up
This is a massive game for the Renegades, who at the moment can’t buy a win. The Renegades go searching desperately for a win to save their season and it will all depend on how well Finch and Marsh deliver as their prime batsmen. The Stars are looking better balanced than their visitors. The presence of Rauf is a huge positive although it remains to been seen if he gets another game. Even in his absence, the Stars look well placed to bag another win and avenge last year’s Grand Final defeat.
History & Statistics
- The Stars have won six of the seven H2Hs where they lost the toss.
- Seven of the last eight H2Hs were won by the away team of the day.
- The Stars have won 10 of their last 13 H2Hs.
- Three of Renegades’ five H2H wins have come at this venue.
Key Players
Maxwell has 300 runs against the Renegades in 13 matches, that includes two 50s. His super aggressive hitting will be the one under focus.
The highest run scorer in H2H matches is Finch, who has 478 H2H runs to his name (13 matches, Avg. 47.80, SR 148.90). He has 2×50 and 1×100 to go with those excellent numbers.