Sydney Thunder host Melbourne Renegades to round out the KFC BBL|13 regular season, in a clash that will decide the wooden spoon
Match facts
Who: Sydney Thunder v Melbourne Renegades
What: Match 40, BBL|13
Where: Sydney Showground Stadium
When: Wednesday, January 17. 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: Ben Treloar (field), Mike Graham-Smith (field), Gerard Abood (third), Roberto Howard (fourth), David Gilbert (match referee)
Match squads
Thunder: Cameron Bancroft, Ollie Davies, Liam Doddrell, Matthew Gilkes, Toby Gray, Chris Green (c), Alex Hales (England), Liam Hatcher, Nathan McAndrew, Alex Ross, William Salzmann, Daniel Sams, Gurinder Sandhu, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, David Warner
Renegades: Nic Maddinson (c), Will Sutherland (vc), Jordan Cox (England), Scott Edwards, Aaron Finch, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mackenzie Harvey, Akeal Hosein (West Indies), Ruwantha Kellapotha, Shaun Marsh, Fergus O’Neill, Kane Richardson, Tom Rogers, Peter Siddle, Jon Wells, Adam Zampa
Thunder: LLLLD (most recent first)
It’s been a season to forget for the Thunder, with little to cheer about in recent weeks. Defeat in last Friday’s Sydney Smash was followed by a crushing loss at the hands of Adelaide Strikers on Sunday night. In fact, their last win (against the Stars) came prior to Christmas. They need a big win here to avoid the wooden spoon – a disappointing effort for an outfit that has qualified for the last four BBL finals series.
Renegades: WLLWL
Similarly, it hasn’t been a great campaign from the Renegades who – like the Thunder – featured in last year’s finals. If there’s one small silver lining for head coach David Saker, it’s that his side have put up a fight in recent games despite being out of the top four race. Coming off a Melbourne Derby win on Saturday night that gave club legend Aaron Finch a fitting send-off, the Renegades will hope to do the same for another outgoing veteran in Shaun Marsh.
KFC BBL|13 standings
| Team | Matches playedM | WinsW | LossesL | TiesT | No resultsN/R | Net Run RateNRR | DeductionsDed. | Total pointsPTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 Brisbane Heat Men | 10 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0.972 | 0 | 16 |
2 Sydney Sixers Men | 10 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.339 | 0 | 14 |
3 Perth Scorchers Men | 10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.725 | 0 | 13 |
4 Adelaide Strikers Men | 10 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0.331 | 0 | 11 |
5 Hobart Hurricanes Men | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -0.268 | 0 | 8 |
6 Melbourne Stars Men | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -1.051 | 0 | 8 |
7 Melbourne Renegades Men | 9 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | -0.288 | 0 | 5 |
8 Sydney Thunder Men | 9 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 1 | -0.652 | 0 | 3 |
Players to watch
Despite playing against the Renegades just four times, Tanveer Sangha is the fourth-highest wicket-taker in fixtures between these two clubs. With nine wickets, he also boasts an incredible average of just 8.33 against the men in red. In what has been a tough campaign for the Thunder, Sangha has again stood tall. His economy rate of just 6.53 per over is comfortably the side’s best, and is ranked fourth across the competition for bowlers to have sent down 15 overs or more. While David Warner is hanging around for a third game of the BBL season following his Test retirement, English batter Tom Kohler-Cadmore has departed the Thunder camp for his stint in the UAE T20 league after just 37 runs in four games.
On Sunday, Renegades veteran Shaun Marsh announced that this clash would mark his final game of professional cricket, calling time on a decorated career that began way back in 2001. Throughout his career he has remained a fan favourite due to his classical technique and aesthetically pleasing strokeplay, which has again been on show during BBL|13. Despite playing just five of nine games to date this season, Marsh has been the Renegades’ second-highest run-scorer behind Jake Fraser-McGurk. Speaking of, it was announced on Tuesday that the 21-year-old has penned a four-year deal at the Renegades, which will see him remain at the club until at least BBL|17. In a breakout campaign, his 18 sixes to date this season has only been eclipsed by the league’s most in-form player in Matt Short, who has cleared the rope 25 times.
Head-to-head
Overall: Thunder (7 wins), Renegades (10 wins)
At Sydney Showground: Thunder (0 wins), Renegades (2 wins)
Most runs: Aaron Finch (505), Usman Khawaja (369), Alex Hales (302) Shaun Marsh (206), Callum Ferguson (201)
Most wickets: Gurinder Sandhu (15), Kane Richardson (14), Daniel Sams (14), Tanveer Sangha (9), Cameron Boyce (8)
Rapid stats
- Sydney Thunder have won six of their past eight matches against the Melbourne Renegades, although prior to that span they had only won one of the first nine meetings between the two sides in the BBL.
- Melbourne Renegades have finished eighth in three of the past four BBL seasons – a loss in this match could potentially see them claim their fourth wooden spoon, equalling the Thunder for the most last-placed finishes in the history of the competition.
What’s on the line?
While the top four has been secured, the Renegades will be desperate to avoid a fourth wooden spoon in five BBL seasons. Victory, or a marginal defeat, assures them of that, while a big loss could see the Thunder draw level on points and overtake them on net run-rate. More importantly, they’ll be looking to send retiring great Shaun Marsh out on a high in what is his last professional match, just as they did with the outgoing Aaron Finch on Saturday night.
