Overview
The race to the BBL|03 Semi-Finals is hotting up now, with both the Melbourne Renegades and the Sydney Sixers looking to finish with two wins that could tie up a semis berth, in the Renegades’ case, or a home semi-final for the Sixers. More than that, though, if both teams are to feature in the BBL playoffs, it will be important to come into the knockout stage of the tournament with momentum and confidence.

The Renegades this time won’t have the benefit of the temporary availability of national ODI squad members Aaron Finch andJames Pattinson, which will certainly test their depth, while the Sixers are forging on deep into the season on the back of the flashing blade of skipper Steven Smith.

The Renegades have also lost allrounder Will Sheridan to injury, with Former Zimbabwean Under-19 player Solomon Mire being elevated from the rookie list as his replacement. Mire will become the first Community Rookie to play a BBL match if he is chosen in the final XI.

West Indies limited-overs skipper and star allrounder Dwayne Bravo also joins the men in red. Formerly with the Sixers, Bravo has the style, game and x-factor the Renegades need.

The Sixers have added English fast bowler Chris Tremlett to an otherwise unchanged side, which beat the Hobart Hurricaneson Wednesday night.

Key Battle: Ben Rohrer and Peter Nevill v the Sixers attack
The NSW players are crucial in the Renegades middle order, and will be the best equipped Melbourne players to deal with the variety and subtleties of the Sixers side, comprising large portions of their NSW squad teammates. Both Rohrer and Nevill are in reasonable nick with the bat, if not quite getting the returns they might like, but any success they have in this game will go a long way to keeping the Renegades’ semi-final hopes alive.

Dark Horse: Steven Smith
Perhaps arguable, given he’s been the standout player for the Sixers in their last two games, but Smith’s form remains crucial not just for the BBL, but for Smith’s prospects of a national limited overs call-up, which on current form, must be close. Some of his strokeplay was simultaneously outrageous and scintillating on Wednesday night, with none better than that open-up slash over backward point for six off Ben Laughlin.

Last Time
January 9, 2013 @ SCG: The match remembered for the first look Australian audiences got at English master blaster, Alex Hales. Rushed into the side after flying in that morning, Hales smashed 89 off 52 balls, dotted with 5 fours and 8 sixes – including one measured at 111 metres off the bowling of Stephen O’Keefe, and which came to rest on the roof of the SCG Members Stand. The ‘Halestorm’ as he quickly became known, pushed the Renegades to 5/178 from their 20 overs.

In reply, Renegades’ quicks Nathan Rimmington, Will Sheridan, and Darren Pattinson rocked the Sixers to have them 4/46 in the seventh over. A 54-run stand for the sixth wicket between O’Keefe and Dan Smith helped steady the collapse, but the Sixers then lost their last wickets for 29 off 22 balls to fall 29 runs short.

Squads
Renegades: Ben Rohrer (C), Fawad Ahmed, Dwayne Bravo, Tom Cooper, Alex Doolan, Andrew Fekete, Matthew Gale, Daniel Harris, Michael Hill, Muthiah Muralidaran, Peter Nevill, Aaron O’Brien, Nathan Rimmington.

Sixers: Steve Smith ©, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Josh Lalor, Brett Lee, Michael Lumb, Nathan Lyon, Nic Maddinson, Marcus North, Stephen O’Keefe, Jordan Silk, Dan Smith, Chris Tremlett.

Facts and Figures
The Renegades are the only BBL side that the Sydney Sixers are yet to defeat. As well as last season’ loss, the Sixers lost to the Renegades by 8 wickets at Etihad Stadium in BBL|01, which was their last loss for the tournament before becoming the inaugural KFC T20 Big Bash League Champions.

Race to the semi-finals: Everything’s on the line for the Renegades in this match. Sitting seventh on the ladder, they can still make fourth spot if they win their two remaining matches and the Heat suffer a loss. They also need the Strikers to lose one more of their two remaining matches (the last of which is against the Renegades) and the Hurricanes to lose both their matches. The Sixers are sitting pretty in third and could score a home semi-final with strong wins in their remaining two matches.

This will be the first match for West Indies international allrounder Dwayne Bravo. He comes into the Renegades squad as a Replacement Overseas Player for English international Jos Buttler. Bravo has been in scintillating form, striking 106 from 81 balls against New Zealand in the final ODI of the series, last Wednesday in Hamilton.

The mark of a good middle-order batsman in T20 is their ability to work the strike. Steve Smith did this beautifully in his innings of 65 off 48 balls last week against Perth, scoring off every ball bar two – of which one was his dismissal. He repeated the dose on Wednesday night against Hobart, with his 32-ball 52 again featuring scoring shots off every ball he faced bar the one he got out on, and one other.

Source: www.bigbash.com.au