Melbourne Renegades vs Perth Scorchers BBL Preview: Men in Orange favourites to start well

Game #4 of the Big Bash League 10 will see Melbourne Renegades host Perth Scorchers at the Blundstone Arena on Saturday.

Both teams had a poor BBL 09 season with the Renegades finishing bottom of the points tally and the Scorchers finishing sixth. Additionally, both teams went through a lot of changes during the summer raising prospects of an interesting match.

The Renegades will have BBL veteran Aaron Finch at the helm, while Michael Klinger will hope for a better coaching return than last season. They lost their first eight games last year and that is certainly not the start they would want in BBL 10.

Among the five overseas players available for the Renegades, Rilee Rossouw should be available from the start. His compatriot Imran Tahir won't be available until January 9.

James Pattinson and Marcus Harris are unavailable because of their duties with Australia and Australia 'A'. The Afghan duo of Noor Ahmad and Mohammad Nabi is also unavailable because of delayed starts to their quarantine.

The Scorchers have been one of the most consistent BBL sides, but the last three years have been downhill. They have won just 18 of their last 39 matches and have also been hampered by injuries.

Last season saw the Scorchers finish sixth, although they were only a point behind top-four. The Scorchers will hope to keep scoring big at the death having scored at 10.32 runs per over last season.

The England duo of Liam Livingstone and Jason Roy won't be available until Christmas after arriving late from South Africa. Colin Munro and Joe Clarke are available for selection, though. From the local contingent, all-rounder Cameron Green is unavailable due to his Australia 'A' duties and the subsequent hit on his temple.

Perth Scorchers have a 10-2 win-loss record over Melbourne Renegades including two wins last season.

The Scorchers won by six wickets at Geelong in the Renegades' home match. Before that, the Scorchers won by 11 runs in Perth.

The Renegades will hope their batting will click this season having been dependent on Sam Harper in BBL 09. Both teams struggled with their bowling which was the focus point in the summer recruitment. The Scorchers have a slight advantage in that aspect, though, with the likes of Jason Behrendorff, Jhye Richardson, and Andrew Tye expected to be fit for the start of the campaign.

Both teams will be eager to start on a positive note, although it is the Scorchers who have an edge over the Renegades. The form of the bowling unit will be a crucial factor and the Scorchers will be confident it will work to their advantage this time.