FANTASY
Follow UsHobart Hurricanes began their 2020/21 Big Bash League campaign in fine style, winning their first two matches, but they did suffer a setback against the Adelaide Strikers in their third game. They are currently second on the league table and will look to build on this start.
Meanwhile, the Melbourne Renegades, after a thumping victory against the Perth Scorchers in their first match, succumbed to the biggest-ever loss in terms of runs in BBL history against the Sydney Sixers. They will be keen to put that disappointment behind and regroup themselves ahead of this fixture.
In matches between the two teams, the Renegades have had the upper hand, winning six and losing five against the Hurricanes. But the team from Hobart have won this fixture the last three times it has taken place.
BBL HEAD-TO-HEAD
Overall: Matches – 11 | Hurricanes – 5 Wins | Renegades – 6 Wins
Last 5 Matches: Hurricanes – 3 Wins | Renegades – 2 Wins
SUGGESTED TEAMS
NOTE: Dawid Malan and Mohammad Nabi will be done with their quarantine before this match. If they come into their respective line-ups straight away, then you should look at picking them in your team. They could be very good options for captaincy and vice-captaincy as well.
While you could go for the above team, you also have the option of choosing your own team from cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. Based on algorithms we come up with six different teams that could fetch crucial points.
GROUND DETAILS & TEAM COMBINATION
There have been four matches played at the Bellerive Oval so far this season. A total of 1203 runs have been scored at a run-rate of 8.2 while 55 wickets have fallen. A bowling strike rate of 16.6 is of course very good from a bowling perspective, but it is skewed by the Renegades getting bowled out for 60 in just 10.4 overs against the Sixers.
Pacers have taken the bulk of the wickets so far. Out of the 50 wickets to be taken by bowlers at the Bellerive Oval this season, the faster bowlers have been responsible for 40. So, going by these stats, you’d probably want to have a pace-heavy bowling line-up.
We’ve selected six batsmen (including one wicketkeeper), two allrounders and three bowlers in our side. You could also go with four pacers, with Nathan Ellis being a good option.
There could be a few interesting match-ups too.
Colin Ingram and Kane Richardson are two vital players for their respective teams and this contest, if it takes place, could have a huge bearing on the game. So far, in T20 cricket, Ingram has enjoyed facing Richardson, scoring 34 runs from 12 deliveries without being dismissed.
James Faulkner has made a good start to BBL 10. In this game, when he bowls with the new ball, he is likely to come up against Aaron Finch. This contest has taken place 11 times previously in T20 cricket, with Faulkner dismissing the Australia limited-overs captain twice. But, on the whole, Finch will be quite pleased with his batting average of 53 and strike rate of 137.7 against Faulkner.
CAPTAIN SELECTION
D’Arcy Short has had a mixed start to this season’s BBL. While he has scores of 0 and 2, he managed to sandwich a 72 between the two. While that might point towards indifferent form, Short has been anything but inconsistent in the BBL over the years. In the last four seasons of this tournament, he has scored more runs than anyone else – 1640 at an average of 49.7. He hasn’t taken a wicket this season, but there could be points to be had from there as well.
Our Criclytics player projector predicts Short could score 17-40 runs and could take 0-1 wickets in this match.
X-FACTORS
Shaun Marsh is another player who has been very consistent in the BBL over the years – a batting average of 45.95 in the tournament suggests as much. In two innings so far this season, he has scored 62 and 13. It must be noted that the second knock came under circumstances when there were wickets falling regularly at the other end and he had no option but to go for the big hits and was dismissed as a result.
Our Criclytics player projector predicts Marsh could score 16-39 runs in this match.
James Faulkner might have gone off the radar a little in recent years, but he has made a superb start to BBL 10. In his first three matches, he has taken seven wickets, which sees him joint-top on the wicket-takers list. From a fantasy perspective, the fact that he took at least two wickets in each of those games is encouraging. For those who have followed Faulkner over the years, you’d know that there’s a chance he might chip in with some useful runs as well.
Our Criclytics player projector predicts Faulkner could score 4-13 runs and could take 0-1 wickets in this match.
Kane Richardson tends to often bowl the difficult overs towards the end of the innings and that’s what makes him a good option to consider in fantasy cricket. After all, wickets are what we’re looking for with economy rate being an afterthought and bowling during the death overs does open up great opportunities for wickets. Richardson began BBL 10 with an excellent haul of three wickets and followed that up with one scalp in the Renegades’ second game.
Our Criclytics player projector predicts Richardson could take 0-1 wickets in this match.
