What can our Twenty20 fans say but Bravo?

DWAYNE Bravo’s deceptive brilliance with the ball against the Hurricanes last night showed exactly what the Melbourne Renegades missed last summer — and why they are tipped as a serious BBL/07 contender.

The Renegades, arguably perennial BBL underachievers, narrowly missed last year’s finals after losing Bravo to a serious hamstring tear in their second match against the Perth Scorchers.

Last night on his return to the Big Bash spotlight, he single-handedly helped swing the momentum the visitor’s way with the side’s first BBL five-wicket haul after Hobart had got off to a flyer in the powerplay. In the process he created a slice of Twenty20 history by becoming the first bowler to reach 400 wickets.

New Hurricanes opening pair Alex Doolan (26 from 21 balls) and D’Arcy Short (34 from 19) had piled on a 53-run partnership to set the home fans into a frenzy when Bravo (5-28) struck to halt the momentum.

He deceived Doolan with one of his seemingly endless variety of slower balls, inducing a sliced catch to short third man where 46-year-old Brad Hogg took a comfortable catch. Bravo returned in the 14th over and again outfoxed his opponent with a slower ball, with Ben McDermott skying a catch to mid-off just when he looked like he was about to launch into the form which saw him blast a stunning century when the two sides met last tournament.

McDermott and George Bailey had taken 22 runs from Hogg’s second over and had the home side on track for a total in excess of 180 until Bravo entered the frame and again turned the screws.

The 34-year-old Twenty20 specialist then closed out the innings with three wickets in the last over.