BBL 6 Match 3 Recap
Melbourne Renegades 7/179 (20) Defeated Sydney Thunder by plenty @ Etihad Stadium
1. Thunder In All Sorts - The Sydney Thunder are in a 0-2 hole and I struggle to see them digging themselves out of it as the season progresses. I didn't like their chances coming into BBL6, and I like them even less now. They just have lost too much experience and have too many unproven T20 batsman in their Top 7, and that was on show again tonight. Ryan Gibson is playing really well, and is an outstanding new batsman, however you just can't afford to have an opening batting pair with just 12 games of T20 experience between them. There is no fear factor for opposition sides coming up against the Thunder batting. It's unfortunate for the Thunder that both Watson and Khawaja are unavailable, however other sides appear to have better replacements in terms of depth should their stars be missing. Last year's title must already seem like a long time ago. I would consider shaking things up and opening with an Andre Russell, or Pat Cummins, or Morgan, someone who might scare the opposition.
2.Hussey a Huge Loss - I know Michael Hussey is still the Director of Cricket at the Thunder, but you can't measure his loss highly enough from the playing roster. First and foremost, Hussey was still a world class batsman capable of playing in multiple different ways. Secondly his captaincy would have brought a degrees of tactical nous through years of experience in International cricket. Thirdly, just his presence on the field and at training would've lifted standards around the place. He is a legend of Australian cricket and if you're out there batting with him, or getting instructions from him when bowling, I think subconsciously it's going to lift your game 5%. They didn't call him Mr. Cricket for no reason.
3. Renegades Look Strong - Despite being strong favourites to win this game, it was still a really encouraging performance from the Renegades. They did all the basics well, including going hard and effectively in the Power Play, while still managing to take the innings deep. With the ball, they had a clear plan early and all bowlers looked to have a point of difference. There is really good variety and quality in their attack. To me, they look perhaps the best balanced side in the competition. While the power packed teams like Brisbane, Adelaide and the Sixers look a bit more formidable with the bat, I don't think they are a match for the Renegades' bowling. However there are probably still a few question marks over their middle order batting. Regardless, it's a good start to their season when anything less than a finals appearance would be considered a disappointment.
4. Tremain On The Rise - Chris Tremain is a bowler who has already made a name for himself the past couple of years. He has sort of come out of the blue after being well down the pecking order at NSW just a few years ago. Tremain had the courage that some young players don't have in Sydney, when they think they are good enough. He decided not to sit in line in NSW and become bitter, but instead head to Victoria, and he has not looked back since. Tremain has played a leading role in back-to-back Shield titles in Victoria, and recently made his ODI debut for Australia. He has a chippy action and bowls at good pace. He has good, aggressive body language and his track record in terms of staying fully fit is another big tick for him at this point. While he is not the finished article in terms of T20 cricket, he was impressive tonight and will play a key role for the Renegades this year.
5. "The Lurker" managed a hat trick of victories to start the season, with him correctly predicting a comfortable Renegades win tonight. While he swung and missed on his prediction of Tom Cooper to get 25+ runs, The Lurker is here to get W's and he is the perfect 3-0 at the moment. "The Lurker" has already moved from this win and is looking ahead "3 and 0 without breaking a sweat, I'm already doing the form for tomorrows double header, I'll be 5-0 then and the battlers will be signing my name in their sleep"