The Renegades finished on the fringe of the finals in BBL 05 and will be looking to book their first semi-final berth since the BBL 02 season. There’s no doubt the loss of Chris Gayle and the likely absence of Aaron Finch to Australia’s ODI side will hurt slightly but their batting depth won’t be an issue with Cameron White, Tom Cooper, Callum Ferguson and new signing Marcus Harris all capable of holding their own with the bat. Throw in the additions of spin twins Brad Hogg (2nd BBL leading wicket-taker) and Sunil Narine and the Renegades are starting to look a threat in this year’s competition, without even mentioning World T20 champion and allrounder Dwayne Bravo, who was integral in the West Indies’ success and is the leading wicket-taker in T20 history . The Renegades have won four of the five clashes with the Thunder, including a 5-wicket win in Sydney last season. On that occasion Usman Khawaja (62) and Shane Watson (62) were the main contributors for the Thunder and both will be missing from this clash. The Thunder were hammered in the Sydney Smash by the Sixers by 9 wickets and were exposed in all facets of their game other than a fighting knock by opener Ryan Gibson. They’ll need to bounce back quickly and will face a more daunting batting line-up than that of the Sixers. The Wolf is very confident about a Top 4 finish for Andrew McDonald’s men this season and can see the Thunder making a 0-2 start to their title defence.
Bet: Melbourne Renegades ($1.67)
Top Renegades BatsmanCameron White made a match-winning 61 in the Renegades’ 5-wicket win over the Thunder last season and is The Wolf’s top pick to lead the run scoring once again.
Bet: Cameron White ($4)
Top Thunder BatsmanAs mentioned in The Wolf’s Big Bash season preview, the Thunder’s batting depth was always going to be an issue and it was exposed by the Sixers in the opening match of the competition. Interim captain Eoin Morgan looked promising before he was dismissed for 26 and should produce an improved effort with a match now under his belt.
Bet: Eoin Morgan ($4.50)
Top Renegades BowlerDespite James Pattinson ruled out for the clash with the Thunder, the Renegades have plenty of threats with the ball. Bravo is the leading wicket-taker in T20 history with 365 wickets and was a standout with the ball when playing for the Dhaka Dynamites in the Bangladesh Premier League.
Bet: Dwayne Bravo ($4)
Top Thunder BowlerCricket Australia might have banned Andre Russell from using his black bat but they can’t stop him from doing some damage with the white ball. Russell (1/27) was the pick of the Thunder bowlers in their opening loss to the Sixers and took 2/42 in last year’s clash against the Renegades.
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