The Renegades and Stars are both in desperate need of a victory at the MCG in the first Melbourne derby of BBL12.
The Renegades are attempting to recover from the devastating loss of captain Nic Maddinson.
During the New Year’s Day loss to Perth, Maddinson, 31, suffered a minor injury that resulted in an ACL tear.
Aaron Finch has returned to the captaincy, which he gave up in November 2021 after nine seasons leading the Renegades and 76 appearances as the Australian T20 captain.
The injury prevents Finch from doing so
Maddinson and Peter Handscomb leave the Renegades squad, and catch master Jake Fraser-McGurk and Jack Prestwidge join.
After winning the toss, the Stars will bowl first with an unchanged lineup that includes captain Adam Zampa, Marcus Stoinis, and Trent Boult.
After a 3-0 start, the Renegades have lost four of their last five matches, putting them in the bottom half of the BBL table.
On New Year’s Eve, the Stars defeated Adelaide, ending a three-game losing streak.
This was only the Stars’ second win of the year. Only their net run rate is higher than that of the Heat, who are last in the table.
Stars of Teams:
Joe Clarke (wk), Thomas Rogers (wk), Beau Webster (wk), Marcus Stoinis (wk), Hilton Cartwright (wk),
Nick Larkin (wk), Campbell Kellaway (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile (wk), Luke Wood (wk), Trent Boult (wk),
and Adam Zampa (c) Renegades: Sam Harper (wk), Martin Guptill, Shaun Marsh, Aaron Finch (c),
Jonathan Wells, Mackenzie Harvey, Will Sutherland, Akeal Hosein, Tom Rogers, Kane Richardson,
And Mujeeb Ur Rahman will play far fewer Big Bash games as a result of a new TV rights deal.
The Big Bash League will cut 20 games out of its season, potentially cutting it by at least two weeks, as part of changes made by the huge new seven-
The networks Seven and 7plus, which are part of the Foxtel Group and include Fox Sports on Foxtel as well as the streaming service Kayo Sports.
The BBL’s season will be shorter this year, from December 13 to February 4, which will be one of the most important changes.
From 2024 onward, there will only be 43 games played instead of the current 61, and there will only be three finals instead of five, with a later start date to better coincide with school holidays.
The BBL’s length has long been a problem for players, but it has also affected the availability of Australia’s biggest international stars, who prefer shorter international competitions to the BBL.
As the deal was confirmed, Cricket Australia boss Nick Hockley stated, “The breadth and quality of cricket to be played in Australia over the coming summers is extraordinary.