Melbourne Renegades

Melbourne Renegades

Melbourne Renegades have their base in the Marvel Stadium in the Docklands precinct in Melbourne and are a franchise that has existed since the inaugural season of the Big Bash League in 2011.

The Renegades have been a very inconsistent team in the BBL. They couldn’t reach the playoffs in 7 out of the 10 seasons of BBL so far. Their recent record is even worse. They went from title winners in 2018 to finish with the wooden spoon in 2019 in a complete turnaround of fortunes.

They have now received two consecutive Wooden Spoons – an award given to the team coming last after the league stage- in the last two seasons in BBL|9 and BBL|10.

The Renegades reached playoffs in 2012, 2017 and 2018 out of which they reached up to the Semi-Final stage the first two times. They eventually won the BBL championship in BBL|8 in 2018 against Melbourne Stars by 13 runs in a low scoring match.

Overall, the Renegades have played 103 matches so far in the BBL with a win percentage of 43.68% – 45 wins and 58 losses. Barring Sydney Thunder, the Renegades have the lowest win percentage among all the franchises.

It perhaps says everything you need to know about the Renegades. Excellent when on song, and shoddy when things go awry, the Renegades have had a mixed record in the Big Bash League so far.

With the core group of players for the Renegades coming from the Victoria Cricket team, the franchise had a lot of talent at their disposal, but it was shared with the other franchise from Melbourne, the Melbourne Stars.

The team is currently captained by Australian international captain Aron Finch and coached by David Saker. Captain Finch, who is the second-highest run-scorer of BBL himself, would be look get improved performance from the Renegades team in BBL|11.

Melbourne Renegades Fixtures

Melbourne Renegades will start their BBL|11 campaign with a couple of games – home and away – against Adelaide Strikers. These could be tough first two games for Renegades looking at their record against the Strikers.

When is the Next Melbourne Renegades Match?

When is the Next Melbourne Renegades Women Match?

In the 14 head to head games between the Renegades and the Strikers, the Renegades have won 5 while losing the remaining 9 games. The Renegades have a similar record against Sydney Sixers with 5 wins and 9 losses in 14 games. They play Sydney Sixers on the first day of the next year.

After the games against Strikers, the Renegades play Heat in an away game followed by a couple of games against the Scorchers – home and away. The Renegades have a pretty decent record against Brisbane Heat with 67% wins – 10 wins and 5 losses in 15 games.

On the other hand, the Scorchers have dominated Melbourne Renegades throughout the BBL. The Renegades have won 3 games out of the 14 they played against each other. The 21% win rate is their worst against any BBL franchise.
 

Next, they face Hobart Hurricanes at home against whom they have a 54% win record in 13 head-to-head games – 7 wins and 6 losses. The Renegades’ first match against the other Melbourne franchise – the Melbourne Stars – is on 3rd January 2022 away from home. They have some improvements to make on that front as well with just a 30% win rate against the Stars in 20 matches – just 6 wins and 14 losses.

The Renegades have the best win percentage against Sydney Thunder with a 69% win rate in 13 games – 9 wins and 4 losses. They play Sydney Thunder the last in Jan-2022.
 

There are 4 franchises the Renegades have not done well against traditionally. If they improve that record, we never know, this unpredictable franchise might go all the way for the second time in BBL|11.

Big Bash League 2020 Table

Melbourne Renegades Team

Without a doubt, Melbourne Renegades are the most unpredictable team of the Big Bash League. They won their first BBL in 2018. The winning campaign was followed by two dismal seasons which saw Renegades finishing at the bottom of the table.

Other than finishing semi-finalists in the 2012-13 and 2017-2018 season, Renegades have always found themselves in the bottom half of the points table. Their history is similar to Rajasthan Royals from the Indian Premier League. With such unpredictable nature, Renegades are entering their eleventh BBL Campaign.

After getting two wooden spoons (an unwanted award given to the last-place team), Melbourne Renegades have finally installed a new leadership this season. Aaron Finch has stepped down from the captaincy role. While David Saker has taken the shoes of Michael Klinger as the head coach.

Nic Maddison has been named as the captain for the 2021-22 season. But he is set to miss the first three games after being selected in Australia A team. Kane Richardson will be leading Renegades in Madison’s absence.

Melbourne Renegades’ most experienced squad members Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh are set to miss their first games due to respective injuries. Australia’s T20 World Cup-winning captain Finch is still recovering from knee surgery. His inclusion will be a last-minute call. BBL’s fourth-leading run-scorer Marsh experienced a strain in his left calf while playing the Sheffield Shield game for Western Australia. He will be sidelined for the first few games.

Renegades have added James Seymour as his replacement. The absent list also includes Marcus Harris who is set to open with David Warner in The Ashes. In absence of their most experienced batters, Renegades will rely on Mackenzie Harvey, Jake Fraser-McGurk, and wicket-keeper Sam Harper.

Kane Richardson will team up with James Pattinson and England international Reece Topley in the pace department. A good sign for Renegades is that Pattinson who recently retired from Test cricket will be available for Renegades throughout the season. Renegades will miss their leading wicket-taker from the last season – Peter Hatzoglou. Hatzoglou who took 17 wickets last season will play for Perth Scorchers this season.

Afghanistan international Zahir Khan has been added to the squad to provide spinning options with Cameron Boyce. Renegades made history by securing Unmukt Chand – the first Indian to play the tournament. The experienced IPL player and India’s u-19 World Cup-winning captain will get some games in absence of Renegades’ main batters. Mohammad Nabi and Will Sutherland will provide the squad depth as all-rounders.

Melbourne Renegades Players

Let us take a look at the important players for Melbourne Renegades for Big Bash League 2021.

Sam Harper – Renegades’ wicket-keeper Sam Harper had his breakthrough campaign for Melbourne Renegades last season. The top-order batsman scored 351 runs including three half-centuries in the last season at a strike rate of 124.02. Harper also dismissed 12 players (9 catches, 3 stumpings) while keeping the gloves. This season will be a greater platform for Harper to make his way into the international team.

Kane Richardson – The ICC T20 World Cup 2021 winner Richardson will be the key bowler for Renegades this season. Richardson finished his last season with 15 wickets at an economy of 8. Along with skipping the side for the first three games, Richardson has big boots to fill with.

Zak Evans – The 21-year-old was the find of the last season. Evans, who only got 5 chances last season took 10 wickets at an average of 14.60. In the last three games of the season, Evans dominated the bowling unit for Renegades. He took a fifer in Renegades’ last game of the 2020-21 campaign against Hobart Hurricanes. His inclusion helped Renegades win two of their last three games.

Along with these three Renegades are pitching for Mackenzie Harvey and Jake Fraser-McGurk to have a breakthrough season.

Melbourne Renegades WBBL

Melbourne Renegades Women team has had similar success in WBBL compared to their male counterpart. They are yet to win the championship though. Out of the 85 matches they have played in the BBL so far, they have won just 35 while losing 48 matches with 2 washouts.

The Renegades Women have a good bunch of foreigners which includes a couple of Indian batting superstars in the form of Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues. Under the leadership of Sophie Molineux, an all-rounder, the Renegades women’s team would be looking to reach their first WBBL title.