Big Bash League 2019 Match 26, Melbourne Renegades vs Perth Scorchers: Preview, likely XIs, predictions

Melbourne Renegades will take on Perth Scorchers on January 7 at Geelong. While the Renegades are yet to win their first match of the season, the Scorchers will look for easy points.

It has been a tough edition for Melbourne Renegades so far. They played six matches without registering a single win. Moreover, they already lost one match against Perth Scorchers. The eighth team of the points table failed in every department and their last fixture against Melbourne Stars saw another surrender from them. They had a decent start before losing five wickets for just eight runs. Still, they managed to set a total of 142/9 but the bowlers failed to defend it. Six bowlers were used but none could provide the breakthroughs. The Sixers finally won the match by eight wickets.

For the Scorchers things seem to be a bit brighter though. They won two matches out of six and both against comparatively weaker teams- Melbourne Renegades and Brisbane Heat. Their last one against Hobart Hurricanes saw the Scorchers falling short of just eight runs while chasing 181.  Most of the batsmen failed to perform and the bowlers were expensive. Nevertheless, it was a close one. Their two wins saw the bowlers doing really well- against Melbourne Renegades they took three wickets at the end by conceding only six runs and against Brisbane Heat they created a complete downfall.

Perth Scorchers will definitely have certain advantages whereas for Melbourne Renegades this could be a golden opportunity.

Key players

Shaun Marsh (Melbourne Renegades)– With 233 runs to his name Shaun Marsh is one of the leading run-scorers presently in the league. Even in the last match against the Stars, he ended as the highest scorer for his team. He needs to hit a big score and remain as long as possible to make it effective for the Renegades.

Chris Jordan (Perth Scorchers)– The all-rounder failed in his last outing but proved to be effective on many occasions. He is Perth’s leading wicket-taker with eight wickets to his tally and has added valuable runs frequently. No wonder the Scorchers will need him this time as well.

Likely XIs

Melbourne Renegades– Sam Harper (wk), Aaron Finch (c), Shaun Marsh, Marcus Harris, Beau Webster, Dan Christian, Will Sutherland, Cameron Boyce, Tom Andrews, Kane Richardson, Richard Gleeson.

Perth Scorchers– Josh Inglis, Liam Livingstone, Cameron Bancroft, Ashton Turner, Mitchell Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Cameron Green, Chris Jordan, Jhye Richardson, Matt Kelly, Fawad Ahmed.

Prediction

Perth Scorchers to win.