BBL08 CONTEST PREVIEW GAME 2: RENEGADES V SCORCHERS

“In the absence of Finch and Harris, White is the obvious choice but don’t be surprised to see Nabi open the innings for the Renegades tonight.”

The Re-cap

A horrible spilled catch from Bryant and the dodgiest of umpire calls (you hit it Alex, What Would Gilly Do!) halted Mujeeb’s momentum, cost Swepson a wicket and stopped Wells coming in sooner and don’t even start me about Ingram being caught on the fence for 1 – pretty much everything that could go wrong did for the team last night and yet the side finished 758th 70pts off the cash. The structures were sound, the boys just didn’t execute. That’s cricket. On to tonight’s contest!

 

Likely XI’s

Renegades – Ludeman, Nabi, White, Cooper, Christian, Sutherland, Wildermuth, Boyce, Tremain, Richardson, Usman Khan (Kel Smith, Sam Harper)

  • White is the obvious choice to open in Harris/Finch’s absence but don’t be surprised to see Nabi open the innings so the Renegades middle order can stay where it is.

Scorchers – Klinger, Inglis, Cartwright, Marsh, Turner, Agar, Coulter-Nile, Willey, Tye, Quadir, Behrendorff (Whiteman, Richardson)

  • Anything could happen here. Could easily play both Inglis and Whiteman, both of whom could open with Willey sliding as low as 7th. Or Willey could open with the keeper batting 7. Richardson/Quadir is the other conundrum. I’m expecting Cartwright to play and bat top 4.

 

Selection Committee

Usually all-rounders are gold in DFS but when there are this many, and no one has the first clue as to who will bowl and in what over, it gets very hard to take an all-rounder who may bat low down the order and possibly only bowl 1-2 overs.

They don’t come much more random than this game and it’s hard to have a solid game plan with so many unknowns. I’m taking the value when it’s offered here and spending the full cap on experience and/or class and hoping that the cream rises to the top tonight.

Selection

Mitch Marsh ($18,700): I don’t expect him to bowl more than an over or two (if that) but he should bat #3 and get plenty of time at the crease. I also don’t think he will be over 20% owned so if he has a day out this side will rocket up the leaderboard.

Michael Klinger ($12,800): With the prospect of the Scorchers having to bat second and chase a smallish total, having Klinger always appeals. Will be very highly owned and should be given his price tag.

Cameron White($16,800): I don’t love the matchup, but the big bear is one of those rare batsman who has power but also can get himself off strike with ease. Must have a big game for his side to be competitive.

Dan Christian ($15,900): I am not so sure he will get his four overs but Christian can keep it tight with the ball and must impact with the bat here. Will bat #4-#5 and should get plenty of exposure. Always good for a catch or two as well as he fields in the outfield hitting zones.

Mohammad Nabi ($18,200): All but guaranteed to get his four overs which in this game is a rare thing given the plethora of all-rounders. Most sites have him penciled in at #6 but don’t be surprised to see him open the batting.Very bullish about Nabi tonight, expect he will be roughly 40% and if he is near that ill be almost double the field.

Cameron Boyce ($8,000): Far too cheap. Boyce’s overs look pretty secure here and I just like having spinners in my sides. If Nabi/Christian take early wickets Boyce could really reap the benefit so there is some correlation there as well as some deviation away from the field which is likely to be heavy on Scorchers bowlers.

Usman Quadir ($9,500): May not play given the bowling depth but the one thing the Scorchers don’t have is a leg spinner who keeps it very tight. I don’t see why they don’t play him given the amount of seam options they have. Expecting a 40-50pters from economy alone.

Remaining Salary: $100

 

Final Thought

Very difficult to construct line-ups for this game. Even when we know the final XI’s it will be very difficult to predict who gets what overs and when which is really crucial in BBL DFS. Watch cthis game closely it will greatly inform your next few DFS games featuring these two sides.

Contest Preview Team – Season Results

Spent: $15

Won: $0

Profit: -$15

By BBL