The Adelaide Strikers were just too good for an undermanned Melbourne Renegades outfit, as they fell to another heavy defeat in a match that turned spicy in the dying stages
Match Report:
ScorecardStrikers run hot as Renegades hit new low
The score: Adelaide Strikers 5-171 (Weatherald 51, Gibson 43no, Imad 2-13) beat Melbourne Renegades 111 (Harvey 34, Siddle 3-16, Agar 3-23) by 60 runs
The match in a tweet: Gades slump again! A horror season goes from bad to worse for the Renegades as the Strikers dominate with bat and ball to move to 4-4
The stat: Since winning the title in BBL|08, the Renegades have won just four games and lost 18 in one-and-a-half seasons. And while they still have six games to go in BBL|10, their chances of playing finals this summer are already very remote.
The hero: Having spent almost all his career as an opener, including a memorable grand final century in Adelaide’s title win in BBL|07, Jake Weatherald has been shifted down the batting order after a disappointing start to this season. And it’s proved to be a tactical masterstroke from the Strikers, with the left-hander hitting an unbeaten 34 against the Sixers on Sunday and leading the way against the Renegades tonight to lift them to a strong total. Coming to the middle at No.6 after the Strikers had lost 3-4 in just nine balls, Weatherald looked right at home, launching four sixes and five fours in a vital innings of 51 from just 25 deliveries to steer his side to a total of 5-171 when a score below 150 looked likely.
The stat II: It’s been another memorable season for the Strikers from Wes Agar, who picked up another three wickets tonight to jump to the top of the wicket-taking charts for BBL|10 with 14 from eight games at an economy rate of just 7.84.
The first ball: If the Renegades’ horror season so far could be summed up by one single delivery, it has to be this. Their skipper Aaron Finch, desperate to stand up in a batting order missing Shaun Marsh (paternity leave) and Rilee Rossouw (injury) got a gentle half volley down the leg side from the first ball he faced and somehow clipped it into the hands of Alex Carey behind the stumps. His game over, Finch sat in the dugout for the rest of the night with his arms folded, shaking his head as he pondered another season that is simply not going to script.
The verbals: With the match all but over, Kane Richardson’s dismissal late in the run chase should have passed without incident, but the Renegades paceman had more than a few words with several Adelaide players as he left the ground. Having sent Phil Salt on his way earlier in the night, Adelaide boy Richardson copped plenty from the Strikers’ players, led by Matt Renshaw and including Salt and Peter Siddle, as he walked off, setting the stage for what could be a feisty re-match at the same venue on Friday night.
The Bash Boost: Needing just four runs from the 10th over of the innings to pick up the Bash Boost point, the Renegades looked set to get at least something out of tonight’s game. But an excellent over from Strikers spinner Danny Briggs saw him concede just a single and hand his side what could prove to be a valuable point in the run home to finals. Having got through Sam Harper’s sweep shot, Briggs fired in a handful of quicker deliveries to new man Mohammad Nabi, who showed no real intent to take the spinner on and get the four runs needed to secure his side a point. And the roar from the Adelaide Oval crowd when Briggs finished the over with another dot ball to secure the point showed that the Strikers’ fans were well aware of how important a moment it was.
The Power Surge: With the required run rate accelerating, the Renegades called for the Power Surge at the start of the 14th over in an attempt to get their run chase – and their season – back on track. But Agar and Siddle had other ideas, the pair restricting the Renegades to 2-5 in their two-over period of fielding restrictions, Agar especially brilliant with three consecutive dot balls to start and then the wicket of Nabi.
The new boy: After his career stalled in Sydney in recent years, former NSW and Thunder batter Ryan Gibson has taken a punt on a new start in Adelaide this season and he may just have secured himself a regular spot in the Strikers’ line-up with his performance tonight. Having come to the crease in the middle of a mini collapse, Gibson played a perfect support role to Weatherald as the pair shared a match-winning 96-run stand, the right-hander finishing on 43 not out from 31 balls.
The next stop: Both teams have two days off before they return to the same venue on Friday for a re-match.
Melbourne Renegades XI: Aaron Finch (c), Mackenzie Harvey, Sam Harper (wk), Beau Webster, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mohammad Nabi, Imad Wasim, Jack Prestwidge, Kane Richardson, Josh Lalor, Noor Ahmad
Adelaide Strikers XI: Phil Salt, Matthew Renshaw, Alex Carey (c) (wk), Jonathan Wells, Jake Weatherald, Ryan Gibson, Rashid Khan, Danny Briggs, Wes Agar, Peter Siddle, Harry Conway