Sydney Sixers vs Melbourne Renegades Preview: BBL|14 Match 2

Match Facts

• Who: Sydney Sixers vs Melbourne Renegades
• What: Match 2, KFC BBL|14
• Where: SCG, Sydney
• When: Monday, December 16. Bat flip at 6.30pm AEDT, first ball at 7.15pm AEDT
• Officials: Phillip Gillespie and Samuel Nogajski field, Benjamin Treloar third, Troy Penman fourth, Bob Parry match referee

Match Squads

Sydney Sixers: Moises Henriques c, Sean Abbott, Jafer Chohan England, Joel Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Todd Murphy, Mitch Perry, Josh Philippe, Lachlan Shaw, Jordan Silk, James Vince England

Melbourne Renegades: Will Sutherland c, Josh Brown, Laurie Evans England, Jake FraserMcGurk, Mackenzie Harvey, Hassan Khan USA, Fergus O'Neill, Kane Richardson, Tom Rogers, Gurinder Sandhu, Tim Seifert New Zealand, Callum Stow, Jon Wells, Adam Zampa

Rapid Stats

• Sydney Sixers have won their last eight BBL matches against the Melbourne Renegades; a ninth consecutive win in this game would equal the Sixers' longest winning run against a single opposition in the history of the competition (9 wins v Melbourne Stars, January 2020 to January 2023).
• Melbourne Renegades lost their opening match of the BBL|13 season to the Sixers; the last and only time the Renegades started consecutive BBL seasons with a defeat was in BBL|03 v Melbourne Stars and BBL|04 v Sydney Sixers.
• The Renegades had a collective batting average of 19.3 during the death overs (17th-20th) in BBL|13, the best of any team in the competition (the Renegades' batting dot ball rate during this period was 33 per cent, the second best of any team, Melbourne Stars – 32 per cent).
• Laurie Evans (Melbourne Renegades) hit a boundary once every 3.4 balls faced in the BBL|13 season, the most frequent of any player in the competition (minimum 10 balls faced).
• Sydney Sixers' Todd Murphy had the best bowling economy rate of any player to bowl more than 10 overs in the BBL|13 season (6.2); he was hit for a single every 1.9 deliveries, which was the third most frequent of any bowler (minimum 100 deliveries).

Pitch Report

The SCG is a good batting ground, with a slower track that helps spinners. A score of 185 will be difficult to achieve.

Toss Prediction

The SCG often offers something early for the pace bowlers before it levels off and gives the batsmen a chance to show their skills. We expect the captains to want to bowl first.

Weather Report

Humidity will be high before the game starts, but it is expected to continue to rise during the game. No rain is forecast, with clear skies throughout.

Head to Head

In a direct comparison, it is clear that the Sydney team has shown its most dominant side against the Melbourne Renegades. In the last 10 games, the Sydney Sixers have won 8 times, while the Melbourne Renegades have only won twice. Interestingly, the Sydney Sixers have won all of their last eight games.

Match Prediction

The Melbourne Renegades have been the whipping boys in the BBL for many years, but we expect them to be more competitive this time around. However, we expect the Sydney Sixers to be too strong for them in this opening match.

We're backing the Sydney Sixers to win!

Betting Tips

This will be the second match of the Big Bash League for 2024/25. The teams had different fortunes last season. The Sydney Sixers made it to the knockout stages before falling at the last hurdle in the final against the Brisbane Heat.

The Melbourne Renegades have struggled throughout their season, finishing in seventh place on the table. The home advantage of the Sydney crowd will benefit the Sixers. With their dominant record against their visitors of late, they will be clear favourites in this match.

Bet on the Sydney Sixers to win this match.