Teams Status
Melbourne Renegades
Melbourne Renegades have played Perth Scorchers twice in back-to-back games over the past week. They came close to the massive Perth target in the first class but fell flat in the subsequent encounter, losing by eight wickets.
The batting unit was again to be blamed. After Aaron Finch fell early, the Renegades only got sporadic contributions. Opener Mackenzie Harvey (45) and one-down Sam Harper (32) got some runs on one end of the innings and tail-enders Jack Prestwidge (22*) and James Pattinson (16) got some runs on the other end. Those in-between did nada, which is why the team could only post 151.
In contrast, each and every one of Perth’s top four contributed as the target posted by Melbourne was reached inside 17 overs and eight wickets to spare.
The Renegades have now lost four straight matches and are rooted to the bottom of the points table. If their gloom is to be lifted, their batsmen will need to step up.
Hobart Hurricanes
While Melbourne are winless in their last four, Hobart are actually on a winning streak, having beaten Melbourne Stars and Adelaide Strikers in their last two matches.
Adding another coat of gloss to their achievement is the fact that both of those wins were convincing. They beat the Stars by 24 runs and the Strikers by seven wickets.
The undoubted star of that last result was their in-form opener, Ben McDermott, who scored 110 of the 176 in the successful run chase, remained unbeaten, and generally made a sizable target look tiny.
The successive wins have boosted Hobart’s tally to 14 and they are now in the upper echelons of the standings.
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