It's the first match under the roof for KFC BBL|13 as the Renegades host the in-form Heat at Marvel Stadium
All you need to know: Melbourne Renegades v Brisbane Heat
Match facts
Who: Melbourne Renegades v Brisbane Heat
What: Match 10, BBL|13
Where: Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
When: Thursday, December 21. Bat flip at 6.30pm AEDT, first ball at 7.15pm AEDT
How to watch: Channel Seven, Fox Cricket, Kayo Sports
Buy tickets: Tickets are on sale here
Live scores: Match Centre
Highlights, news and reactions after the match: cricket.com.au, the CA Live and Big Bash apps
Officials: Phil Gillespie (field), Clare Polosak (field), Nathan Johnstone (third), Mattis van Eck (fourth), Bob Stratford (match referee)
Match squads
Renegades: Nic Maddinson (c), Will Sutherland (vc), Joe Clarke (England), Harry Dixon, Aaron Finch, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mackenzie Harvey, Quinton de Kock (South Africa), Fergus O'Neill, Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan), Kane Richardson, Tom Rogers, Jon Wells, Adam Zampa
Heat: Colin Munro (New Zealand) (c), Xavier Bartlett, Sam Billings (England), Josh Brown, Max Bryant, Jordan Buckingham, Spencer Johnson, Matthew Kuhnemann, Nathan McSweeney, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Mitch Swepson, Callum Vidler, Paul Walter (England)
Form guide
Renegades: DLLWL (most recent first)
After a few big off-season moves, it's not the start to the season the Renegades were hoping for, falling short with the bat in the last over against the Sixers before a dangerous pitch in Geelong brought a premature ending to their first home fixture. But by facing the Sixers, Scorchers and Heat in their first three games of BBL|13, they can at least take comfort that their draw should get easier from here on.
Heat: WDWLW
Last season's runners-up have announced themselves as a genuine title contender in BBL|13 with an unblemished start to the new campaign. They obliterated Melbourne Stars in the season opener before a disciplined bowling effort saw them defend 7-151 against the Thunder, with only torrential rain in Adelaide getting in their way of starting the tournament with three straight wins. It's a complete turnaround to the start they put up in BBL|12 when they lost four of their first five.
KFC BBL|13 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
HEA
|
10 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0.972 | 0 | 16 |
|
2
SIX
|
10 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.339 | 0 | 14 |
|
3
SCO
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.725 | 0 | 13 |
|
4
STR
|
10 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0.331 | 0 | 11 |
|
5
HUR
|
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -0.268 | 0 | 8 |
|
6
STA
|
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -1.051 | 0 | 8 |
|
7
REN
|
10 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2 | -0.288 | 0 | 6 |
|
8
THU
|
10 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2 | -0.652 | 0 | 4 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points
Players to watch
Jake Fraser-McGurk was electric in his only innings of the season so far with an 24-ball 48 that included a massive six onto the SCG members pavilion off Jack Edwards. With that his top score from 27 matches in the T20 format, one can't help but feel it's only a matter of time before he puts it together to go large like he has in the Marsh One-Day Cup and Sheffield Shield already this domestic season.
Australia's premier white-ball spinner Adam Zampa made the perfect start at his new BBL club with 2-24 against the Sixers, and after a few days rest at home in Byron Bay that saw him miss the abandoned clash in Geelong, the 31-year-old should be raring to go in his first home game for the Renegades in favourable spinning conditions at Marvel Stadium. Zampa has replaced Peter Siddle in the Renegades' 14-player squad for the match.
Mitch Swepson is making up for lost time with the white Kookaburra after being left out of Queensland's 50-over side for the first half of the summer as the Bulls selectors gave playing time to both him and Matthew Kuhnemann. The leg-spinner has been one of the tournament's most dangerous bowlers with five wickets so far this season while proving one of the hardest to get away with an economy rate of 6.84.
Spencer Johnson will also be flying high after scoring a massive A$1.78 million payday at the IPL auction. It's been a huge 12 months for the left-arm speedster following his breakout BBL|12 campaign that's included BBL, first-class, the Hundred and Australia ODI and T20I debuts, and he'll be looking to get back among the wickets after claiming just one in their opening two games of the season.
The Heat have also added 18-year-old pace bowler Callum Vidler to their squad as a local replacement player and he'll use the next few weeks in the BBL as part of his preparation for representing Australia at the ICC Under-19 World Cup in South Africa next month. Stars batters Matthew Renshaw and Josh Brown have overcome minor fitness concerns from last week's win over the Thunder to take their place in the squad for Thursday's clash with the Renegades.
Head-to-head
Overall: Renegades (13 wins), Heat (7 wins)
At Marvel Stadium: Renegades (5 wins), Heat (4 wins)
Most runs: Aaron Finch (515), Chris Lynn (381), Ben Cutting (274), Tom Cooper (260), Sam Harper (210)
Most wickets: Mark Steketee (12), Ben Cutting (12), Michael Neser (9), Daniel Christian (9), Kane Richardson (8)
The venue
Rapid stats
- Brisbane Heat will be aiming for back-to-back wins against the Melbourne Renegades in Victoria for the first time in the history of the competition, following their seven-wicket victory when they last met in the BBL|12 Knockout final at Marvel Stadium (January 29, 2023).
- Melbourne Renegades lost their most recent BBL match in Victoria (January 29, 2023 v Brisbane Heat), snapping a four-match winning run in their home state.
- Brisbane Heat have taken exactly 10 wickets in each of their last two BBL bowling innings – this is the first time in the history of the competition the Heat have taken all 10 wickets in consecutive matches.
- Mitchell Swepson (63) is one away from becoming the outright second all-time leading wicket-taker for the Heat in BBL history (also Ben Cutting – 63); he's taken at least one wicket in four of his last five bowling innings in the competition.
- Kane Richardson (68) is one away from recording the outright third most appearances for the Melbourne Renegades in BBL history (also Sam Harper – 68). Only Aaron Finch (104) and Tom Cooper (71) have made more for the Renegades.
What's on the line?
A third straight win to start the season would keep the Heat at the top of the BBL|13 standings and their undefeated record intact. And with the Sixers and Scorchers in hot pursuit, early wins will be crucial in securing a double-chance come late January. For the Renegades, they need to get their campaign rolling as another loss would leave them chasing the pack sooner than they would have hoped.
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