The Stats Zone
January 2 2018, 13:35 · Tom

2017-18 Big Bash League – Melbourne Renegades vs Sydney Sixers Preview

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When? Wednesday, 3rd January

Where? GMHBA Stadium

Weather? The weather in Melbourne is expected to be cloudy but no rain and temperatures of 16-18c

What channel is it on? Channel TEN in Australia & BT Sport 2 in the UK

Are tickets still available? http://www.melbournerenegades....

Where can I stream the match? BT Sport subscribers can stream the match online via the BT Sport website

HEAD-TO-HEAD
Last five meetings: Melbourne Renegades W4, Sydney Sixers W1
All-time meetings: Melbourne Renegades W4, Sydney Sixers W2

MELBOURNE RENEGADES

Coach: David Saker

Captain: Aaron Finch

  • The Renegades are playing their first game in Geelong and it is the first ever competitive Big Bash match in the city so they will be welcomed by a sell out crowd and a fantastic atmosphere for this match in which the Renegades will want to bounce back from their last match defeat.
  • They lost to the Brisbane Heat last time out but the coaching staff are relatively happy with how they have been playing and they have named an unchanged 13-man squad and will most probably start with the same eleven.
  • There is pressure on Aaron Finch and Dwayne Bravo who have been poor with the bat so far and the duo desperately need to get some runs under their belts and ease the reliance on the likes of Tom Cooper and Cameron White.

SYDNEY SIXERS

Coach: Greg Shipperd

Captain: Johan Botha

  • The Sixers have made a shocking start to the BBL07 having lost all four of their matches so far and their prospects are looking bleak at such an early stage even though the competition has been extended this year.
  • To compound matters, they remain without skipper Moises Henriques who is on personal leave while Steve O’Keefe is out with injury now and he has been replaced in the 13-man squad by Soumil Chhibber and that is another blow to them.
  • Daniel Hughes also faces a late fitness on the quad strain he suffered warming up before their last game that he was forced to miss and it would be another major blow if he is unavailable once again for an already weakened team.

PREDICTION
The Sixers are in complete disarray at the moment and with yet more negative team news, they will be up against it when they face the Melbourne Renegades. Aaron Finch’s men have been impressive so far barring the narrow loss to the Perth Scorchers last time out, and they will be highly motivated to get the victory in front of this passionate Geelong crowd who will sample Big Bash cricket for the very first time.