Renegades to look for Pattinson replacement in Top End series.

Melbourne Renegades may be one step closer to finding a replacement for veteran quick James Pattinson with reigning NSW men's cricketer of the year Chris Tremain named for their pre-season tour to Darwin.

Pattinson quit the Renegades in June after 20 appearances for the club across four seasons (along with 11 games with Brisbane Heat), citing a desire to spend time with his young family over the Christmas period.

He also wants to keep his body fresh for first-class cricket with Victoria and Nottinghamshire where he is currently playing in the County Championship.

The 32-year-old's departure one year before his three-year deal was due to expire at the end of KFC BBL|12 has opened up another spot on the Renegades list for this season.

The Renegades announced the signing of fiery paceman Tom Rogers on a two-year deal from the Hobart Hurricanes yesterday, who joins experienced seamer Kane Richardson and young quick Zak Evans as the only fast bowlers currently on their list for BBL|12.

Tremain's three-year deal with Sydney Thunder expired at the end of last season.

He didn't play a game in BBL|11 and managed only three the year before but played 11 in BBL|09 after making the move from the Renegades following their maiden title in BBL|08.

The 30-year-old's red-ball skills are well established at first-class level – he is the second leading wicket-taker in the Marsh Sheffield Shield since 2015-16 with 215 – but he has struggled to lock down a regular place in the BBL, managing just 49 games during his nine years in the Thunder and Renegades.

Tremain worked his way back into the Blues' Shield side last season after not being selected during the entire 2020-21 summer following his switch back to his birth state from Victoria and claimed 24 wickets at 15.95 in five matches to win the Steve Waugh Medal.

"I was lucky enough when I got that opportunity (against) Victoria, there were no jitters or nerves about being back in the game," he told cricket.com.au in March.

"I just had this belief that was instilled in me from our bowling coach (Shawn Bradstreet) saying, 'Just go do your job and you'll be good enough'.

"People (are) highlighting good performances but in reality, I'm just picking up the tools and going back to work."

Tremain was also in Darwin last winter during Sydney's extended COVID lockdown where his collected 13 wickets for Desert Blaze in the Strike League T20 and 50-over competitions.

Joining Tremain in the Renegades Academy squad for the Top End T20 tournament from August 11-21 against the Melbourne Stars Academy, Papua New Guinea, Strike League All-Stars XI and Cricket Australia XI, is Rogers, Evans and Renegades regulars Mackenzie Harvey, Will Sutherland and Jake Fraser-McGurk.

"This tournament provides us with the opportunity to get some added match practice into our BBL-listed players and look at some other players of interest ahead of the season," said Renegades general manager James Rosengarten.

"We still have a couple of list spots available for BBL|12 – so these games are not only a chance for our head coach, David Saker, to work closely with our contracted players but also to cast his eye over others who might be in contention for a list spot."

The Stars named their squad last week, which included BBL-listed players Clint Hinchliffe and Nick Larkin.