BBL7 - Renegades v Stars Preview (Plus The Lurker's Pick and Bank)

Melbourne Renegades (4-2) v Melbourne Stars (0-5) @ The Etihad
 
Head to Head History - Melbourne Stars 8, Melbourne Renegades 4
 
Last 5 - Melbourne Stars 3, Melbourne Renegades 2
 
Melbourne Renegades 13-Man Squad - Brad Hodge (C), Dwayne Bravo, Tom Cooper, Marcus Harris, Brad Hogg, Jon Holland, Tim Ludeman+, Mohammad Nabi, Kane Richardson, Matt Short, Chris Tremain, Beau Webster, Jack Wildermuth
 
Melbourne Stars 13-Man Squad - John Hastings (c), Michael Beer, Liam Bowe Scott Boland, Ben Dunk, Dan Fallins, James Faulkner, Evan Gulbis, Glenn Maxwell, Kevin Pietersen (Eng), Rob Quiney, Daniel Worrall, Luke Wright  
 
Preview - The Melbourne Renegades will be looking to bounce back from a narrow final over defeat to the Scorchers in Perth when they host the winless Melbourne Stars. The Renegades are sitting pretty at 4-2, but will have to deal with lynchpins Aaron Finch and Cameron White being unavailable for perhaps for the rest of the Tournament through Australian duty. The Stars’ season has gone from bad to worse with another listless display in their 8-wicket thumping by the Adelaide Strikers. 
 
Big Batting Battle - Marcus Harris v Glenn Maxwell - Marcus Harris is now the Renegades’ most senior batsman at the top of the order, after the departures of Finch and White. He showed in Perth exactly what he is capable of by taking apart a strong Scorchers’ bowling line up in scoring 48 from 28 balls. Glenn Maxwell had a slow start to BBL7, however has scored 143 runs from his past three games, including 66 in a lone hand for the struggling Stars in their last game against the Strikers.
 
Big Bowling Battle - Mohammad Nabi v James Faulkner - I have gone for two senior players who have had contrasting fortunes in BBL7 in the Renegades’ overseas import Mohammad Nabi, and the Stars’ James Faulkner. Nabi was the Man of the Match when these sides clashed just under a week ago, and has taken 6/134 for the tournament, going at just over 6 runs per over.  Faulkner has bizarrely been somewhat of a non-factor throughout BBL7, bowling just ten overs in five games for the figures of 2/67. John Hastings’ lack of use of him has been mystifying at times. 
 
Ground Dynamic - The Etihad Stadium - The wickets have generally been good at the Etihad this season, although you wouldn't rank it in the top few batting grounds. Spinners generally do well there as well, and the team batting first should be really competitive with a score of around 165. 

THE LURKER's PICK (13-12) - Melbourne Stars -  I'm going for the Stars again here. Surely they can a win against the Renegades missing Finch and White" 

THE LURKER'S 10 UNIT BANK - (Running Tally = -36 Units)

4 Units Melbourne Stars to win by 1-20 runs or 1-4 wickets @ $6

3 Units Luke Wright to score 25+ into a Stars win @ $3.80

1 Unit James Faulkner Man of the Match @ $17 

1 Unit Renegades high bat/bowler to be Ludman/Richardson @ $20 

1 Unit Stars high bat/bowler to be Dunk/Bowe @ $27