Saturday’s only Twenty20 Big Bash Round 4 match is between Melbourne Renegades and Melbourne Stars. The opening ball is set to commence at 19:10pm with the game to be played at Etihad Stadium. The away team Melbourne Stars are the favourites for the match. View our preview and teams for the game between Melbourne Renegades and Melbourne Stars.

When: 19:10 | Saturday 04/01/2014 Live on:

Where: Etihad Stadium

Melbourne Renegades $2.27 vs Melbourne Stars $1.64 at Sportsbet Australia get a $250 FREE BET on this match

Melbourne Renegades $2.35 vs Melbourne Stars $1.60 at Luxbet Australia get a $500 FREE BET on this match

Odds Comparison:

Melbourne Renegades	2.27	2.35	2.35	2.35	2.27	2.35
Melbourne Stars	1.64	1.60	1.60	1.60	1.64	1.60

Teams:

Aaron Finch(C), Meyrick Buchanan, Tom Cooper, Alex Doolan, Brendan Drew, Faf du Plessis, Fawad Ahmed, Jake Haberfield, Alex Hales, Daniel Harris, Michael Hill, James Muirhead, Muttiah Muralitharan, Peter Nevill, Aaron O’Brien, Darren Pattinson, Nathan Rimmington, Ben Rohrer, William Sheridan, Jayde Herrick, Marlon Samuels.

Shane Warne(C), Jackson Bird, James Faulkner, Peter Handscomb, John Hastings, Scott Henry, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Alex Keath, Clint McKay, Lasith Malinga, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Glenn Maxwell, James Pattinson, Rob Quiney, Clive Rose, Matthew Wade, Cameron White, Luke Wright.

Preview:

Overview
The second Big Melbourne Derby of BBL|03 is already upon us, with the Melbourne cricketing public this time reconvening on the red side of town under the roof at Etihad Stadium.

The Renegades were very good in disposing of the Hobart Hurricanes on New Year’s Day. A string top-order batting effort was backed up with a superb bowling effort, in which the late innings bowlers struck at will, taking the last five Hurricanes wickets for just 22. Muthiah Muralidaran, James Pattinson, and Nathan Rimmington all conceded no more than a run-a-ball, to take 8/51 between them. It was the Renegades’ second win in three days.

The Stars struggled for momentum at times in their run chase against the Thunder in Sydney on Wednesday night, and it will be interesting to see if the narrow drop-in wicket and football surface at Etihad becomes a factor again for them again in this match. Ultimately, the experience of David Hussey and Brad Hodge got them home fairly comfortably, in the end, after some generous Sydney Thunder bowling.

Key Battle: Aaron Finch v Cameron White
Both of them captain their respective sides, they both open the batting, and on their day, they can both be one of the most destructive batsman going, with an ability to take down bowling attacks with sheer brute force. Both hold imposing Twenty20 records, too; Finch sits atop the run-scorers list over the history of the KFC T20 Big Bash League, while White sits 11th overall on the career T20 run-scorers list. It’s why they’re both such important wickets for a bowling team.

Dark Horse: James Pattinson
Well on his way back from injury now, Pattinson made a welcome return to top-level cricket on Monday night, taking 3/36 to bowl Brisbane out for 153. The next day, he was named in the Australian ODI squad for the first three matches of the Carlton Mid ODI Series against England beginning in Melbourne on 12 January. He then followed up with 4/24 to knock Hobart over for just 111, and looked even better again. Pattinson admitted that he felt a touch rusty in his return, but he’s hit the ground running and will be super keen to shine against his former Stars teammates.

Last Time
December 20, 2013 @ the MCG: The first Big Melbourne Derby clash kicked off BBL|03, with the Stars posting 7/208, a BBL record highest innings score that has since been bettered three times, and then rolling their cross-town rivals for just 132 in the 18th over. English all-rounder Luke Wright stamped his authority on the contest, with a hard-hitting 70 off a ridiculous 32 balls at the top of the Stars order, and then Test quick Jackson Bird followed that up with a spell of 4/31 from four overs to shock the Renegades.

Squads
Renegades: Finch, Ahmed, Buttler, Cooper, Gale, Harris, Hill, Muralidaran, Nevill, O’Brien, Pattinson, Rimmington, Rohrer

Stars: Cameron White (c), Jackson Bird, James Faulkner, John Hastings, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Glenn Maxwell, Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka), Clive Rose, Clint McKay, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade and Luke Wright (England)

Facts and Figures
In Big Melbourne Derby clashes over BBL history, it currently stands at two wins apiece, with the Stars win at the MCG in round one squaring the ledger. The Renegades held the advantage in BBL|02, winning both matches, while at Etihad Stadium, both teams have won one game each.

Nathan Rimmington and James Pattinson’s wicket feast over the last week has seen them jump to first and second on the BBL|03 most wickets tally, with 8 and 7 wickets, respectively.

With Chris Gayle lately parading himself around sporting events in Sydney and not playing cricket anywhere, Stars veteran Brad Hodge became the leading run-scorer in the history of Twenty20 cricket with a pull shot to midwicket to take him to 49* on Wednesday night. Gayle’s tally is 5752, and Hodge finished the match 60*, and on 5770 career runs.

Renegades’ English import Jos Buttler’s three catches places him inside the top five fielders for BBL|03, but it’s even more notable for the fact that Buttler, normally a wicketkeeper, has taken all three in the outfield.

Broadcast: from 7:30pm AEDT on Channel Ten, and on Fairfax Radio Network.

Source: www.bigbash.com.au