Clinical Strikers hand Renegades record loss

The match in a tweet: Strikers' all-round superiority consigns defending champs to record-breaking winless streak to start BBL|09

The Score: Adelaide Strikers 6-173 (Wells 58, Short 41, Weatherald 27) defeated Melbourne Renegades 110 (Webster 49, Head 2-26, Siddle 3-14, Rashid 2-19, Head 2-26) by 63 runs

The Hero: Jon Wells has established himself as one of the most reliable and consistent middle-order batters the BBL has seen since making his debut for Tasmania nine years ago. But he's played few more timely knocks than his 58 from 38 balls today. After the Strikers risked imploding amid a top-order bating frenzy, the 31-year-old took on a vital rebuilding role before finishing with a flourish, his last 23 runs coming from just seven deliveries.

The Supporting Cast:  After a stuttering start to his BBL|09 campaign, Matt Short has been finding his range in recent matches. His 41 from 28 balls today was a thumbnail sketch of his campaign to date – battling to find the boundary early until he found his range and launched Jack Wildermuth for two mighty sixes in a crucial 19th over that yielded 18 runs for the Strikers.

The Consolation Act: In what is becoming a forlorn campaign for the Renegades, Beau Webster has shone in his role at the top of the order. His striking to the short boundary on the western side of Adelaide Oval – most notably a huge six from Michael Neser that threatened the large windows in the players' viewing rooms – kept his team in the contest. Until his dismissal on 49, when leg spinner Rashid Khan's plaintive appeal while lying flat on the pitch was eventually upheld.

The Shot: Jack Wildermuth's shin-high full-toss was never going to pose much of a challenge to a set batter, but the sheer effortlessness of Matt Short's baseball swing that landed the ball in the first level of the Edwin Smith Stand was as timely as it was sweet.

The Big Moment: When Renegades coach Michael Klinger was interviewed at the conclusion of the time-out in his team's run chase, he noted that Shaun Marsh was key to the assignment of 114 runs from 11 overs. Two balls later, Marsh – whose frustration at not being able to find the fence was becoming palpable – played over the top of a full-ball from spinner Travis Head, and the equation had become markedly more difficult.

The Stat: The reigning BBL champions now boast another first, though not one they could have imagined at season's start. The Renegades' nine consecutive losses to start BBL|09 is the worst to begin any season, eclipsing the eight losses on the trot recorded by Sydney Thunder to start BBL|02. If there's a silver lining for the current champs, it's they remain well adrift of the longest losing streak the competition has seen, which remains the Thunder's 19 from December 2011 to January 2014 (when teams played just eight preliminary games each season).

The Blitz: Strikers' opening pair Jake Weatherald and Phil Salt launched a stunning assault on the Renegades bowlers in the initial overs of the Power Play. From the moment Weatherald pulled spinner Samit Patel's opening delivery to the mid-wicket boundary, it was clear what the home team's batting plan would be. They raced to 0-36 from three overs after help themselves to 18 from Joe Mennie's opening offering, but when bother openers holed out in consecutive overs the game's complexion changed.

The catch: After Shaun Marsh's dismissal made the going tough for Melbourne Renegades, hopes turned to the hitting power of Mohammad Nabi in his first outing for the reigning champs. However, his contribution was restricted to six when his Afghanistan teammate Rashid Khan lured him into a false stroke and veteran seamer Peter Siddle sprinted from his station at backward point to take a tumbling catch at full-length, handing the leg spinner his 50th BBL wicket for the Strikers.

The Big Inclusion: The loss of the Strikers' leading runs scorer for the season thus far, Alex Carey, was mitigated by the return of Adelaide's skipper and Test batter Travis Head. However, it was Head's contribution with the ball – 2-26 from four overs, with the key wickets of Marcus Harris and Shaun Marsh – that outshone his 22 from 20 balls with the bat.

The Next Stops: The Strikers head to Brisbane to take on the Heat's star-studded batting line-up on their home patch at the Gabba on Tuesday afternoon, while the Renegades are in Canberra on Wednesday for a match-up with the Thunder at Manuka Oval,

Adelaide Strikers XI: Jake Weatherald, Phil Salt, Travis Head (c), Jon Wells, Matt Short, Harry Nielsen, Michael Neser, Rashid Khan, Peter Siddle, Wes Agar, Harry Conway.

Melbourne Renegades XI: Shaun Marsh, Marcus Harris, Sam Harper (wk), Beau Webster, Mohammad Nabi, Tom Cooper, Dan Christian (c), Samit Patel, Jack Wildermuth, Cameron Boyce, Joe Mennie.