Brisbane Heat vs Melbourne Renegades, BBL T20 2022, Today Match Prediction 15 December 2022

brh vs mlr Match Prediction & Analysis

Brisbane Heat will take on Melbourne Renegades in their first clash of Big Bash League 2022-23. Both the teams had a poor last season – while the Heat finished 7th the Renegades ended up as the wooden spooners – and will be eager to start off with a win.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Brisbane Heat Preview

Brisbane Heat have been perennial underachievers of the BBL, having won the championship only once back in 2012-13. Last season, they could manage only 3 wins from 14 games and lost 11.

The Heat do have plenty of star power in the squad this time. They have made some solid additions in the form of Sam Billings, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Colin Munro, and Matthew Renshaw. While Khawaja and Labuschagne will miss much of the tournament due to national duties, they should return towards the second leg of the tournament. In the meantime, Munro should be able to fill the void left by Chris Lynn with his big-hitting prowess and vast experience. Munro has played 357 T20s and scored 8917 runs, including a 14-ball half-century. Sam Billings is another batter to watch out for.

Brisbane Heat’s weakness is their bowling attack, which looks pedestrian at times against top-quality batting sides. The likes of leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson and fast bowlers Mark Steketee and Xavier Bartlett have really got their task cut out.

Brisbane Heat Predicted Playing XI:

Colin Munro, Jimmy Peirson (c & w), Sam Billings, Matthew Renshaw, Max Bryant, Jack Wildermuth, James Bazley, Michael Neser, Mitchell Swepson, Mark Steketee, Xavier Bartlett

Brisbane Heat Actual Playing XI:

Josh Brown, Sam Billings, Matthew Kuhnemann, Colin Munro, Mitchell Swepson, Mark Steketee, Jimmy Peirson, James Bazley, Xavier Bartlett, Max Bryant, Ross Whiteley

Melbourne Renegades Preview

The Melbourne Renegades have finished bottom in the last two seasons, unable to get a string of wins under their belt. The Renegades have some good bowling options but are a bit light on batting again. Aaron Finch has been out of nick for a while and would need to lead from the front right from the start. Shaun Marsh and Martin Guptill are both experienced campaigners and provide stability to the team’s batting.

The injury to Liam Livingstone is a big blow as the star English batter was in great form. However, West Indian all-rounder Andre Russell will be replacing Livingstone for the first four matches, which should really help the Renegades. Russell, who has a T20 strike of 169, can provide those quick cameos down the order and will also bowl a couple of overs in the middle.

In the bowling department, the Renegades will depend on Akeal Hosein, Mujeeb ur Rahman, and Kane Richardson to deliver the goods. Pace bowler Kane Richardson was the team’s highest wicket-taker last season, finishing up with 19 scalps.

Melbourne Renegades Predicted Playing XI:

Nic Maddinson (c), Aaron Finch, Sam Harper (wk), Shaun Marsh, Will Sutherland, Andre Russell, Mackenzie Harvey, Kane Richardson, Zak Evans, Akeal Hosein, Mujeeb ur Rahman

Melbourne Renegades Actual Playing XI:

Aaron Finch, Will Sutherland, Jonathan Wells, Jake Fraser McGurk, Kane Richardson, Nic Maddinson, Akeal Hosein, Thomas Rogers, Sam Harper, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Andre Russell

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

There hasn’t been any domestic game played at this venue, so it’s hard to predict the exact nature of the wicket. But the pitch should be fresh, which should help the batters. The spinners can play a role in the middle-overs.

A thunderstorm is expected in Cairns on the morning of the match but we should have a full game.

Venue Details

The Cazaly’s Stadium in Cairns has hosted just two Tests and 5 ODI games so far and will be hosting only one game in the BBL this season. Australia and New Zealand played 3 ODIs here earlier this year. It turned out to be a low-scoring series with the highest total being 267-5 by Australia.

Toss: To Bowl

The team winning the toss is likely to field first as not much is known about the pitch and chasing might be the better option in that case.