Hobart Hurricanes and Melbourne Renegades have already booked their places for the Qualifiers and Eliminator. It, however, is a race to reach at the top of the table.
In the previous contest, the Renegades edged past the Hurricanes by 6 wickets. The Renegades batted well as a cohesive unit and chased down 146 in 19.2 overs. Sam Harper was adjudged Player of the Match for his spectacular innings of 32 off 18 and two catches behind the wickets.
Pitch report
Bellerive Oval in Hobart has a reputation of producing high-scoring game. The average first and second innings scores read 182 and 167 respectively. The highest total chased here is 161 by Australia against England.
Hurricanes of runs
The top two run-getter in this season of BBL are from the Hurricanes. D’Arcy Short has muscled 567 runs at 63, while captain Matthew Wade has blasted 487 runs at 44. To add fuel to the fire, the in-form duo opens the innings and have together, on many occasions, hammered the opposition bowlers to pulp.
Their middle-order batters George Bailey and Ben McDermott too have been among runs. Bailey, however, has a superior average of 52.8. The experienced lad has been performing exceptionally well at crucial junctures.
They have a class-apart all-rounder in James Faulkner who is the third-highest wicket-taker. Although he has been successful at taking wickets, his economy is what concerns Wade. In fact, the other Hurricanes bowlers have been failing at both getting wickets and keeping a lid on the runs. They are lucky that Short can bowl in the time of need, that he has also taken 6 wickets.
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Probable XI for Hobart Hurricanes: Matthew Wade (c & wk), D’Arcy Short, Celeb Jewell, Ben McDermott, George Bailey, Simon Milenko, James Faulkner, Jofra Archer, Clive Rose, Jarrod Freeman, David Moody
Renegades rely on bowlers for impetus
The Renegades, unlike the Hurricanes, have been short of runs. Their highest run-scorer Sam Harper has not even amassed half the runs that Short has scored. They, for that matter, have been relying heavily on all-rounder Mohammad Nabi. He has scored 225 runs at 25, and his best figures 4 for 25 helped his team notch up a crucial win against Sydney Sixers.
Captain Finch has been switching between international and domestic duties, playing only 5 matches thus far and scoring 128 runs.
Kane Richardson has been the star for the Renegades. His 22 wickets have placed him at the top of the highest wicket-takers’ list. Dan Christian and Cameron Boyce have been playing supporting role to Richardson, taking 12 wickets each.
Probable XI for Melbourne Renegades: Mackenzie Harvey, Aaron Finch (c), Sam Harper (wk), Tom Cooper, Mohammad Nabi, Daniel Christian, Beau Webster, Cameron Boyce, Kane Richardson, Harry Gurney, Chris Tremain
Fantasy team
We have opted for a fantasy cricket team on the basis of players’ impact, recent performances, and credit points.
What is your combination?
My XI: Matthew Wade (vc & wk), Tom Cooper, George Bailey, Ben McDermott, Celeb Jewell, Mohammad Nabi, James Faulkner, D’Arcy Short (c), Kane Richardson, Cameron Boyce, Jofra Archer