BBL6 Game 27 Preview - Adelaide Strikers v Melbourne Renegades @ Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Strikers (2-4) v Melbourne Renegades (2-4) @ Adelaide Oval
Preview - It's the last chance saloon for both the Strikers and Renegades as they meet at the Adelaide Oval on Monday night. While the two sides occupy the bottom two positions on the BB6L table, back-to-back victories to end the regular season could see either the Strikers or Renegades sneak into the finals. Adelaide continued their road woes with a tight 2-wicket loss to the Melbourne Stars, serving up another sub-par total to defend. However, they have won their two games at the Adelaide Oval and the Strikers will be buoyed by another big home crowd as they look to keep their season alive. The Renegades have dropped their past three games, two coming in heartbreaking fashion as their final’s hopes started to slip through their fingers. After putting up a record 4/222 against the Hurricanes, it really was an unforgivable loss for the Renegades, as they somehow managed to blunder their way towards another loss. The Strikers were victorious in the clash between the two sides last season, running out 27-run victors at Etihad Stadium.
Squad Changes - The Strikers have named an unchanged 13-player squad for this home clash. With overseas player, New Zealand leg spinner Ish Sodhi, impressive on debut, I expect Liam O’Connor to once again be consigned to the bench. The Renegades have recalled paceman Chris Tremain in place of Xavier Doherty for this must win game. Doherty got his opportunity against the Hurricanes last week, however failed to impress conceding 30 runs from his 3 overs without a wicket.
Melbourne Renegades Scouting Report - The Renegades batting display could hardly have been more impressive against the Hurricanes. While Aaron Finch and Cameron White have been in great form all tournament, it’s been the form of some of their middle order players that has given them the impetus for bigger scores in the past couple of games. Tom Cooper has been in sizzling form the past two games scoring 39 from 24 balls against the Sixers, and 53 not out from 24 balls against the Hurricanes. What has been so impressive about Cooper is his ability to go hard from Ball 1, and really back himself to hit boundaries without having a settling in period which might stall the momentum of an innings. I'm not convinced Marcus Harris is their best option at the top of the order, however he is a hell of a lot better option then Sunil Narine, and his 25 from 19 balls got the Renegades innings off on the right note. The Renegades had been lacking explosive hitters in the middle order earlier in BBL6, however Thisara Perera showed exactly why he was snapped up mid-season by blazing 28 not out from 11 balls against the Hurricanes.
To be honest I was shell shocked that an attack containing Brad Hogg and Sunil Narine could cough up 223 and a victory last week. Narine was the Renegades’ best bowler by the length of the Flemington straight in taking 3/27 as he nearly single handedly dragged them across the line. Hogg has been a bit more expensive the past few games and teams are starting to get after him with plenty of sweep shots. The Renegade’ faster bowlers have been a disaster in the past few game and James Pattinson and Thisara Perera combined for 7 overs for 105 runs against the Hurricanes. Whilst it's been great see Pattinson back, he has gone around the park in his first three games and will need to come up with a few strategies so that he is a help and not a hindrance to his team in this format.
Adelaide Strikers Scouting Report - The Strikers, for mine, have been the poorest performing batting unit in BBL6. Whilst other struggling outfits like the Thunder and Hurricanes have put up some below average totals, they have all fired on a few occasions to give their fans glimpses of the high ceiling their side can have with more consistency. After scoring 195 on the opening night against the Heat, the Strikers have been restricted to under 160 in four of their last five games. Outside of Ben Dunk and Skipper Brad Hodge, there have been very few telling contributions from other Strikers’ batsmen. I think the inclusion of Tim Ludeman is a good one and he showed some glimpse in his 26 from 24 balls against the Stars. Jono Dean would have been happy to avoid a third straight duck and finished the Strikers’ innings well against the Stars, finishing with 23 from 16 balls. The Strikers have really fallen in a hole straight after the batting Power Play in the past few games with a lack of intent, aggression and a lack of boundaries. I wonder if sending in Kieron Pollard to have a back straight after the six overs is up might be on their mind.
Ben Laughlin was outstanding, once again, against the Stars claiming 3/19 from 4 overs. Laughlin, since being dropped, has been by far and away the Strikers’ best bowler with 7 scalps at an average of 15, and an economy rate of 6.3. Ish Sodhi showed his class and guile on debut for the Strikers and he will be expected to do a similar controlling job in the middle overs against some of the Renegades’ power hitters. The Strikers still look probably a bowler short, however Michael Neser was better against the Stars. I don't think they will want to rely on too many more overs from Ben Dunk, although it might have been worth a try as a shock tactic.
Verdict - The Renegades are playing better cricket than the Strikers at the moment, however both sides come into this game equally desperate. The Renegades look to have by far the stronger batting line up in terms of power and depth; however it hasn't proved good enough to get them over the line in the past few games. Adelaide play better cricket at home so I don't expect this game to be one way traffic, especially with the brittle confidence of some of the Renegades bowlers. Expect the Strikers to target the likes of Pattinson, Tremain and Perera early in their spell to make them think back to their recent nightmares with the ball. I can't see Adelaide winning this game unless they get a performance with the bat from someone like a Kieron Pollard or Tim Ludeman. They have been relying on Dunk and Hodge too much, and teams are not looking scared when bowling to the Strikers. I think the team batting first here will be looking for a score of 175+ given the generally excellent batting conditions in Adelaide.
The Lurker - "I have had a bit of a freshen up over the week end so I'm ripe and ready to go on another winning streak. The Renegades have been the death of me lately however I am giving them one final chance tonight. Get on White to score 25+ into a Renegades win over a mediocre Strikers team. I like the Strikers High Bat/Bowler double of Brad Hodge Into Ben Laughlin"