Brisbane Heat will be looking to break into the top four when they take on Melbourne Renegades at the Manuka Oval in their 10th match of the season on Thursday. The Heat are currently placed at the sixth spot in the table with 16 points. The Renegades, on the other hand, are going through yet another terrible season as they are placed right at the bottom of the table having won just two matches.
However, the Renegades won their last match and will be looking to carry that momentum forward into this match. But that won’t be easy as Mohammad Nabi, who single-handedly won his team that match, has departed on national duty. That will weaken their batting lineup considerably and that’s why the other players need to bring their A-game to the plate.
The Heat batsmen have been in great form as all of Chris Lynn, Joe Burns, Max Bryant, and Joe Denly have found runs of late. The lower order of Jimmy Peirson, Jack Wildermuth, and Lewis Gregory has scored the quick runs as well. The bowlers have started picking up wickets as well and that puts them in a good position ahead of this encounter.
Team News
Both Brisbane Heat and Mohammad Nabi have lost two of their key players. While Heat will have to deal with the absence of their lead spinner Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman, the Renegades will miss the services of Mohammad Nabi. Both of them have departed for fulfilling their national duty for Afghanistan. Shaun Marsh is also injured, so the Renegades will have to manage their batting resources carefully.
Probable Playing XI
Brisbane Heat:
Max Bryant, Joe Denly, Chris Lynn (C), Jack Wildermuth, Joe Burns, Lewis Gregory, Jimmy Peirson (WK), James Bazley, Mark Steketee, Xavier Bartlett, Matthew Kuhnemann
Melbourne Renegades:
Aaron Finch (C), Sam Harper (WK), Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mackenzie Harvey, Beau Webster, Peter Hatzoglou, Imad Wasim, Jack Prestwidge, Will Sutherland, Noor Ahmad, Kane Richardson
Key Players
Aaron Finch (Melbourne Renegades)
He has gone through a poor run of form in this season but needs to put his best foot forward in this match if he wants to lead his side to victory. Finch is an explosive top-order batsman and good innings at the top will help him in setting the tone of the match.
Chris Lynn (Brisbane Heat)
He scored a fifty in the last match and he needs to score big again to put pressure on the struggling Renegades. The batting track at this venue will suit his style of batting as well. If he gets going, he has the ability to take the match away from the opposition single-handedly.