Merry Christmas to everyone, I hope it was a good one and a nice mini-rest before we get into the most hectic part of the cricketing schedule. The huge Boxing Day double header ends with the Renegades (1-3) and the Scorchers (5-0) facing off at Marvel Stadium. The Scorchers had a 21 run win in the same matchup at the same venue just 4 days ago. This match was supposed to be in Perth but we all know why we aren’t there. No weather issues under the roof at Marvel of course.

 

Draftstars has put up a $15,000 contest, with top prize $1,133.

 

 

Expected Scorchers Xl: Bancroft, Munro, Inglis, Marsh, Turner, Evans, Agar, Tye, Hatzoglou, Mills, Behrendorff

 

Expected Renegades Xl: Finch, Harvey, Maddinson, Harper, Fraser-McGurk, Nabi, Sutherland, Khan, Pattinson, Topley, Richardson

 

The Scorchers are $1.47 favourites, having not lost a game and sporting a strong lineup even without Jhye Richardson. It’s a familiar looking squad from previous years but concerns over a big downgrade in the quality of their overseas players has been eased by strong contributions from Laurie Evans and Tymal Mills. With Josh Inglis yet to hit any form, they will hope that the top order can prevent an over-reliance on the scintillating form of Mitch Marsh.

 

The Renegades are probably sporting the worst team on paper in the BBL, despite getting Nic Maddinson and Aaron Finch back in the lineup. Kane Richardson and Mohammed Nabi are the standout consistent contributors on the team, but the rest is made up of inconsistent players, some of whom still have plenty of development in them (Harvey, McGurk, Sutherland, Khan). Getting Shaun Marsh back would help to strengthen things a tad, but he is now 38 years old.

 

UPDATE from the Renegades

 

 

 

 

Looking for Draftstars scores from previous editions from the BBL? Our Free Players Logs + Ground Fantasy breakdowns are now available in Data Tools

 

Love It - Josh Inglis $13,900

 

A few weeks ago many of us were clamouring for Inglis to be the test keeper, based partly on his stellar play in the last couple of BBL seasons. I have a feeling that after 3 underwhelming scores and with a price drop, this might be a spot to get on him early while everyone else is reluctant to click on his name. He’s too good of a player to stay out of form for long.

 

Love It - Jason Behrendorff $14,300

 

Dorff has been solid this year, without blowing the roof off. Still, 2 of his 5 scores have been 65+, which would be sufficient at this generous price. Facing a weak lineup on a difficult wicket could give him the opportunity to clean up a bag of wickets.

 

Don’t Love It - James Pattinson $13,600

 

Pattinson is of course considered one of the premier bowlers in the country, but his BBL record isn’t all that flash. T20 cricket may not be his go, especially as his abilities decline thanks to age and injuries. Don’t get sucked into the big name at a cheap price, with a couple of interesting cheaper plays and Behrendorff as superior pivots.

 

Don’t Love It - Aaron Finch $16,600

 

Another obvious big name who punters flock to in the BBL, Finch is 35 years old and has a worse record than both Maddinson and Harper in the last 5 seasons of the Big Bash. Coming off a good game to start his season, I think Finch is a good fade with a lot of poor scores littered throughout his history.

 

Who Knows - Reece Topley $11,100

 

I badly wanted to go for Fraser-McGurk here as a potential smokey, but we’re probably a couple of years away from seeing his talent blossom in this competition. Instead, I’ll remind you that Topley is a properly good international bowler with a good wicket-taking record, and I think there are more big performances to come like his 79 points three games ago.

 

Suggested Draftstars Lineup  

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