Hurricanes fold for 74 as Renegades get first win of BBL14

The Melbourne Renegades bowled out the Hobart Hurricanes for 74 runs in Thursday’s Big Bash League clash in Geelong, chasing the total down with six wickets and 66 balls to spare.

Hobart’s loss could have been much worse had it not been for a resolute 35 runs from 29 balls by captain Nathan Ellis.

Fergus O’Neill, Tom Rogers and Will Sutherland took three wickets apiece for Melbourne as the Hurricanes slumped to 8/40 before Ellis’ rearguard effort dragged them to 74 all out.

The Renegades were ruthless in their response, seeking some early net run rate gains with a brisk chase.

Jake Fraser-McGurk (5 from 5) fell early, while Josh Brown (13 from 11), Jacob Bethell (3 from 6) and Laurie Evans (7 from 5) lost their wickets cheaply too, but a rapid-fire 37 from 19 by Tim Seifert took the Renegades to 4/78 in nine overs.

The one-sided match gave Melbourne their first victory of the 2024-25 BBL season, with their title odds firming to $9 at PlayUp.

Cricket betting sites, meanwhile, have the Hurricanes at a long $11 to win the tournament after Thursday’s thrashing.

“The other night we weren’t too happy with how we executed it the Powerplay,” said Rogers, who won player of the match with figures of 3/25.

“Fergus (O’Neill) and I went back to the drawing board and really wanted to make an impression tonight.

“Great effort for the team to put the best foot forward and hopefully get the boys a win.

“And the boys in the middle took care of it.

“I think we put the ball in pretty good areas. A little bit of luckier times as well.”

Hobart have an immediate chance to redeem themselves, with their second match of BBL14 coming up on Saturday against the Perth Scorchers.

Big Bash bookmakers have the Hurricanes as $2.20 underdogs, while Perth — who won their opener against the Melbourne Stars on Sunday — are at $1.68 to win.

The Renegades also face the Scorchers next, hosting them on Monday evening in Melbourne.

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