Big Bash League 2019 Match 11, Hobart Hurricanes vs Melbourne Renegades: Preview, likely XIs, predictions

Hobart Hurricanes will host Melbourne Renegades for Match 11 of the Big Bash League 2019-20. Both have played two games each with the Hurricanes winning their first fixture while the Renegades are yet to win one.

The fifth ranked team of the points table, Hobart Hurricanes started their campaign with a win against Sydney Sixers. In the next one against Melbourne Stars, they failed to chase down 164 runs and lost by 52 runs. It was mainly the bowlers who made the difference for the Hurricanes. The first game saw an electrifying Qais Ahmed running through the opposition line up with others proving the required support. But against the Stars, the bowling department failed to fulfill the expectation. Except for Riley Meredith none could deliver a satisfying performance. The batting was more or less similar in both games. While the expectation will be yet again huge from the bowlers, the batsmen must gear up before it’s too late.   

Melbourne Renegades, the last team of the table have nothing to lose as such. They are the only team so far to have lost both games they played. But interestingly both times the Renegades were involved in two high scoring games of this season. Their first game saw Sydney Thunder, the topper of the table chasing down 170 runs to win it by six wickets. In the next one against Perth Scorchers, the Renegades failed to chase down a target of 197 runs by 11 runs. Clearly, the batsmen did deliver quite well for the team while the bowlers could not restrict the opponents. The onus will be definitely on the bowlers provided the batsmen perform in the same way.

Key players

Riley Meredith (Hobart Hurricanes) – Riley Meredith has shown consistency in both games for the Hurricanes. In the first fixture, he ended with 1/10 in four overs. The next one saw him scalping three wickets for 27 runs. Another balanced performance for Meredith can claim a significant win for the Hurricanes.

Kane Richardson (Melbourne Renegades) – Kane Richardson was the cheapest bowler for the Renegades in their first game. In the second one, he took four wickets for 22 runs but his sole effort was not enough. No wonder Richardson is leading the bowling for Melbourne Renegades. He needs his colleagues to support him well though!

Likely XIs

Hobart Hurricanes- D’Arcy Short, Caleb Jewell, Ben McDermott (c & wk), David Miller, George Bailey, Simon Milenko, James Faulkner, Nathan Ellis, Qais Ahmed, Clive Rose, Riley Meredith.

Melbourne Renegades- Sam Harper (wk), Aaron Finch (c), Shaun Marsh, Tom Cooper, Dan Christian, Beau Webster, Jack Wildermuth, Cameron Boyce, Kane Richardson, Richard Gleeson, Harry Gurney.

Prediction

Melbourne Renegades to win.