Melbourne Renegades – BBL 10 fantasy team preview
A profound look into the signings, team news and players availability of the Melbourne Renegades for the 2020 Big Bash League along with a fantasy cheat sheet providing the fantasy potential of the Melbourne Renegades players.
Coach: M Klinger
Captain: A Finch
BBL 09 Finish: Wooden spoon
Melbourne Renegades (BBL 10) – Off-Season Signings/Trades
After a disappointing first season as a coach, M Klinger has done well with the off-season signings by bringing in some quality bowling options and a valuable middle-order batsman in R Rossouw. To address the dire bowling performances last year, Renegades have brought in the fast bowling pair of Lalor and Pattinson from the Brisbane Heat and has also acquired the services of the South-African veteran I Tahir, a young Afghan prospect N Ahmad who will cover till Tahir arrives and the Pakistani left-arm spin all-rounder I Wasim. The signing of J Prestwidge should serve them well in the future with the young all-rounder being rated highly around the Australian cricket circuits. The clarity in their thinking and approach was visible after they signed B Howell only for the first couple of games to cover for M Nabi who will miss the first two fixtures. The notable absentees from the previous year are the two middle-order bats, D Christian and T Cooper.
Melbourne Renegades (BBL 10) – Talking Points
Will the bowler heavy off-season signings result in better bowling performances?
Melbourne Renegades were just god-awful with their bowling performances last year where they ended up picking the least number of wickets (69) which was almost twice as less as the toppers Stars and conceded runs at a rate of 8.56 per over which was easily the worst in the whole tournament. They have certainly taken a note of this which was evident with their bowler heavy signings ahead of the 2020 season. Kane Richardson’s presence whole through the season will certainly benefit them and even though Pattinson will only be available at the business end of the league, he’s still a good addition along with his Brisbane Heat team-mate J Lalor who provides the left-arm angle and the new-ball value with his swing. On the spin front, they’ve retained both Boyce, their highest wicket-taker last season and the El-Presidente M Nabi. Noor Ahmad and I Tahir will occupy the third spinners spot with I Wasim more likely to cover for Nabi if at all he departs for the Ireland series. Overall, the management has done quite well to cover their most apparent weakness from the last year and it’s up to the players to perform to their potential.
The Rossouw Effect
R Rossouw has been a T20 globetrotter for some years now and is all set to bat at the crucial No.4 spot for the Renegades this season. He is among the top ten run-scorers in all T20s since 2018 and has played in some prominent T20 leagues such as PSL, BPL and T20 Blast. He’s usually great against pace and has the game to combat spin especially at the BBL level and will act as the glue of the batting order with the likes of Finch, Harper and Marsh batting above him and the likes of Nabi, Webster and Wasim batting below him. With an uninterrupted full season availability, his role will be crucial in determining the fortunes of the Renegades batting unit.
Melbourne Renegades (BBL 10) – Fantasy Cheat Sheet
Melbourne Renegades (BBL 10) – Cash Cows
A Finch – A Finch being available for a full season is good news for both Renegades fans and fantasy users and the Australian white-ball captain has the opportunity to top the run charts after playing a reduced role in the last couple of seasons due to his international assignments. There’s a bit of concern with his fitness after he endured a tear in his glute area during the T20I series against India but should recover well ahead of the opening fixture.
S Marsh – The BBL veteran S Marsh is all set to dominate one more season with the bat at the No.3 position for the Renegades. There seems to be no slowing down with age as he cracked three centuries in the Sheffield Shield leading into the BBL this year.
K Richardson – Another star player who will be available throughout the whole season for the Renegades whose bowling style suits the big boundaries at most of the BBL venues. His slower-ball variations are guaranteed to provide valuable wickets from a fantasy perspective.
Melbourne Renegades (BBL 10) – Value for Money Picks
R Rossouw – As discussed earlier R Rossouw will play the No.4 role for the Renegades and is available for the whole season.
C Boyce – With 14 wickets from 14 games, the 31-year-old leg-spinner was the highest wicket-taker and the only constant in the bowling attack for the Renegades in BBL 09. He’s more likely to be benefitted from the much-improved bowling attack around him this season.
M Nabi – His presence in the BBL this year is reduced due to the COVID outbreak in Adelaide last month which has forced him to miss the first couple of games and the Ireland-Afghanistan series will most likely see him miss the second half of the season. Still, he offers potential fantasy value with his reliable off-spin and the No.6 batting position.
With @MohammadNabi007 back for #BBL10, you might want to reacquaint yourself with The President’s finest moments with bat + ball. It’s worth your time #GETONRED pic.twitter.com/ttoLjJJnHM
— Melbourne Renegades (@RenegadesBBL) October 21, 2020
I Tahir – A genuine wicket-taker and a bowler who can bowl at any phase of the match, I Tahir will be arriving late into the tournament but he still provides value with his experience.
Melbourne Renegades (BBL 10) – Risky Picks
J Lalor – He’s most likely to start the tournament with his new-ball value, left-arm angle and his ability to chip in at the death. But including him in the eleven will compromise on the batting depth of the Renegades who will be missing the services of D Christian at that spot.
B Webster – He had a great season last year scoring 425 runs from 14 innings and was one of the top run-scorers for the Renegades only behind S Marsh. But whether he can repeat those performances remains to be seen after the inclusion for R Rossouw and his own lean patch with the bat in Sheffield Shield.
M Harris – The top-order of the Renegades batting unit is fully occupied with Finch and Harper opening and Marsh and Rossouw at 3 and 4 respectively. Even there is a stern competition for the back-up batting role with the young and aggressive J Fraser McGurk and M Harvey waiting in the wings.
Melbourne Renegades (BBL 10) – Differential Buys
S Harper – He’s certainly a crowd favourite due to his attacking brand of batting with the execution of the step-out drives and the ramp shots in the PowerPlay. He managed to score 279 runs from 12 innings last year at a healthy strike-rate of 144.
Slammin’ Sammy Harper doing his thing.#GETONRED pic.twitter.com/8282fN5NAs
— Melbourne Renegades (@RenegadesBBL) June 3, 2020
I Wasim – He provides dual value with his slow left-arm spin and his lower-order batting skills. He’s most likely to occupy the 3rd overseas spot ahead of Noor Ahmad due to his experience and the batting depth he provides.
J Prestwidge and W Sutherland – Both these players are most likely to fight it out for the fast-bowling all-rounder’s spot with Prestwidge getting the first bite of the carrot courtesy of Sutherland missing the first two games due to his Australia A commitments.
ALSO READ: BBL squad analysis
Melbourne Renegades (BBL 10) – Bargain Buys
Noor Ahmad – He’s just a 15 years old kid and lacks experience at the league level but he has shown enormous potential and possesses a sharp googly up his sleeve. He’s available for a grand total of seven games which should be enough to showcase his talent.
J Pattinson – He won’t get much game-time with him available only for the last few fixtures due to the Test match participation.
Melbourne Renegades (BBL 10) – Cheap buys
The likes of B Howell, J Fraser McGurk, M Harvey and J Holland will surely get their chances at some point in the tournament and are easier to acquire due to their credentials.