Boys in red the real deal after smashing Sixers
IT’S been five long years since the Melbourne Renegades were last considered a genuine title challenger. But that’s all changed.
With a walloping of the Sydney Sixers, the boys in red are now the real deal.
Skipper Aaron Finch said as much in his post match address on Wednesday.
“Hopefully we can win it,” Finch told the media at GMHBA Stadium, believing his side can “go deep” in the tournament.
“That’s what every team sets out to do at the start of the year. When you sit down and put your list together you look at scenarios and to be 3-1 now is a really good spot to be in.
“The Sixers have always been a bit of a bogey side for us, they’ve played well and we’ve played poorly against them in the past, so it was nice to get that win tonight.”
It’s been a painful ride for the Renegades in recent seasons, falling well short of expectations.
While their cross-town ri- vals — the more flashy franchise in the Melbourne Stars — have challenged for titles in each of the six BBL campaigns, the perceived poor cousin at Etihad Stadium failed miserably on the pitch.
Since 2012-13, when the Gades won the minor premiership and bowed out in the semi-final, the results have gone south.
With Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez, West Indian sensation Dwayne Bravo and English keeper-batsman Jos Buttler at their disposal in 2013-14, the Renegades could only muster three wins.
They loaded up the following season — desperate to bet- ter their sixth place finish — by adding Callum Ferguson (Adelaide Strikers), Matthew Wade (Melbourne Stars), Andre Russell (West Indies), Jesse Ryder ( New Zealand), Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) and Ben Stokes (England).
But again they failed to fire a shot, winning three matches and failing to qualify for the semis.
Chris Gayle headlined the recruits in 2015-16, bringing hype and hope to the struggling Gades.
He barely gave a yelp, registering just one (albeit dazzling) half-century, in eight games.
More concerning, the devastating left-hander was the Renegades’ leading runscorer — pipping captain Finch — in a campaign that netted just three wins for a third-consecutive season.
Having cleaned out a host of imports in Russell, Ryder, Stokes and Al Hasan the previous season, the Renegades again made mass changes.
Gayle was not offered another contract, but the franchise brought in fellow West Indian Sunil Narine alongside Bravo, Sri Lankan Thisera Perera and Perth Scorchers’ veteran Brad Hogg.
Yet it netted the same result, fifth position on the table.
Already in BBL07, the Renegades have eclipsed their av- erage seasonal win return. And there’s six matches to play.
The batting is explosive, with genuine strokemakers such as Tim Ludeman coming in at No. 9, and the bowling is damaging and versatile.
“It’s a good attack because it’s all very different,” Finch said.
“We’ve got the skill of (Mohammad) Nabi who bowls little swingers and spinners, Hogg spins them both ways as a chinaman, (Kane) Richardson slides them in, Bravo with his slower balls and (Jack) Wildermuth ... everyone is so different which makes it a really tough attack to line up and get a hold of.”