The Melbourne Renegades will be looking to make it two wins on the bounce when they host the Perth Scorchers in their first game at Marvel Stadium in BBL14. The Scorchers will be looking to bounce back after a surprise loss, in what is shaping up to be a great contest! We bring you our full match preview and best bets below.
BBL14 Renegades vs Scorchers Betting Tips
Marvel Stadium, Monday 23rd December, 7:15pm AEDT
Melbourne Renegades
Predicted XI: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Josh Brown, Tim Seifert, Jacob Bethell, Mackenzie Harvey, Laurie Evans, Will Sutherland, Tom Rogers, Fergus O'Neill, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa
The Melbourne Renegades picked up their first win of BBL14 with an easy win over the Hurricanes in Geelong. The Renegades knocked over the Hurricanes for just 74 led by Will Sutherland (3/13) and Fergus O’Neill (3/16). The Renegades made light work of the chase as Tim Seifert’s unbeaten 37 off 19 deliveries saw the Renegades chase down the target inside of 10 overs.
Melbourne signed Siefert to a multi-year deal during the off-season and the New Zealander has repaid the faith by top scoring in each of the Renegades games so far this season. At the time of writing, Siefert is the third highest run scorer in the competition with 92 runs at a strike rate of 150.81.
With English youngster Jacob Bethell now in the Renegades side, it gives them one of the most powerful batting lineups in the competition. Fraser-McGurk, Brown, Seifert, Bethell and Laurie Evans are all capable of winning games off their own bat. They haven’t got firing yet, but if they do, the Scorchers will be in a challenging position.
Perth Scorchers
Predicted XI: Finn Allen, Keaton Jennings, Cooper Connolly, Josh Inglis, Ashton Turner, Matty Hurst, Nick Hobson, Ashton Agar, Jhye Richardson, Jason Behrendorff, Lance Morris
The Scorchers batting unit could get going in Hobart, getting to a below par 6/155. Josh Inglis (49) had formed a 54 run partnership with Ashton Turner (39) however Inglis’ dismissal saw the Scorchers only score 33 runs from the final 25 balls of the innings.
A surprising element of the defeat was the struggles the star-studded Scorchers bowling attack had. Jason Behrendorff was the only bowler to take a wicket, while Lance Morris (0/39), Cooper Connolly (0/39) and Jhye Richardson (0/33) all struggled as the Hurricanes won by 8 wickets.
The Scorchers will be looking for a lift from star import Finn Allen who has been dismissed in the second ball of both of their games this season. Scored of 6 and 4 haven’t set the tournament on fire, but the Kiwi will be eager to get his campaign going in Melbourne.
Match Prediction
This has been the most one-sided matchup in the history of the Big Bash League, with the Scorchers winning 16 of the 19 matches played between the two sides. The Scorchers are currently on a 6 game winning streak against the Renegades, with Melbourne’s last win over Perth coming in 2020. The surface at Docklands has been traditionally a tricky batting surface, which the Scorchers bowling attack have been very good on.
Marvel Stadium has been like a second home for the Scorchers having played a lot of games there during Covid years, as well as their dominance over the Renegades. The Scorchers have a 12-1 record at Marvel Stadium, with their consistency and depth always giving the Renegades plenty of issues. The Scorchers rarely lose two games in a row, and they’ll be eager to bounce back with a win over the Renegades.
Perth Scorchers to Win
$1.77 (2.5 Units)
Prop Bet
After two failures to start the tournament, Finn Allen sits at $5 to be the Scorchers leading run scorer. Allen scored 304 runs at a strike rate of 187.73 in nine games at Major League Cricket before the Big Bash League season, the fourth most runs in a tournament that featured Travis Head, Steve Smith, Faf Du Plessis, Devon Conway, Nicholas Pooran and Quinton de Kock. Allen is due for a big score to kick off his tournament, and will certainly keep his aggression going.
Finn Allen: Scorchers Top Run Scorer
$5.00
