Renegades vs. Scorchers BBL odds, tips and bet specials

THIS is not the gentle opener Melbourne Renegades were hoping for.

To make matters worse, star skipper Aaron Finch is unavailable and could miss a significant chunk of the campaign after injuring his finger in the Australia vs. India Test match in Perth.

Instead, the experienced Cameron White will take charge of a team that features fresh faces such as Zak Evans, Harry Gurney, Mackenzie Harvey and Will Sutherland.

There are still plenty of old heads in the red half of Melbourne, with the likes of Tom Cooper, Tim Ludeman and Kane Richardson all seasoned Big Bash League veterans.

Cameron Boyce replaces Sunil Narine as the lead spinner, while Dan Christian fills the void left by Dwayne Bravo’s defection to Melbourne Stars.

Also confirmed for BBL08 is Mohammad Nabi, who made a big impact with bat and ball during his stint with the Renegades last season.

There is not a hell of a lot to report about the Perth Scorchers squad.

Cameron Bancroft is suspended and Shaun Marsh is away on Test duty, but otherwise the team looks much as it has the last few seasons.

David Willey returns as the marquee overseas player, while Usman Qadir – son of the great Abdul Qadir – has earned a spot through his efforts with Western Australia in domestic cricket.

Michael Klinger leads a batting order that includes Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Mitchell Marsh and Ashton Turner – national representatives all.

Mitchell Johnson has retired, yet the WA-bred pace attack of Jason Behrendorff, Joel Paris, Jhye Richardson and Andrew Tye remains a force to be reckoned with.

Perth are $5 favourites in the BBL outright betting at Sportsbet, while the Renegades ($8) are expected to finish in the bottom half.

Top runscorer bets for Renegades vs. Scorchers

Michael Klinger

• $3.75 at Neds
• $3.60 at Sportsbet
• $3.25 at Bet365

With well over 5000 runs to his name, Klinger is a certified superstar of T20 cricket. The 38-year-old Victorian has finished as top match batsman ($5 at Sportsbet) in four of his last five games against the ‘Gades, so that might be the pick of the options.

Cameron White

• $3.40 at Sportsbet
• $3.25 at Bet365
• $3.25 at Neds

With Finch out, it will fall to White to set the tone for the Renegades in the early part of the campaign. The hard-hitting Vic has shown excellent form in domestic cricket this season and looks the best of the top batsman bets for the home side.

Renegades vs. Scorchers top wicket-taker tips

Dan Christian

• $6.50 at Bet365
• $6.50 at Sportsbet
• $6.50 at Neds

The drop-in wicket at Docklands has always had a two-paced nature that favours clever bowlers with good variations. It suited Dwayne Bravo down to the ground, so Christian’s brand of canny seam bowling – which includes an excellent quicker ball that tops 140kph – could do some real damage.

Andrew Tye

• $3.25 at Sportsbet
• $2.80 at Neds
• $2.75 at Bet365

If we are talking about variations of pace and the ability to exploit uneven bounce, there are few better than this guy. Tye’s collection of mystery balls are tough to get away at the best of times, let alone when the seam is sticking in the wicket.

Renegades vs. Scorchers match betting

The Renegades have plenty of players in form – White and Cooper in particular – but they are missing much of the top-end talent they had last season. The likes of Bravo, Finch and Narine would be very handy against a Scorchers side that is rightly considered the team to beat this term.

Perth Scorchers to win – $1.90 at BetEasy

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