The Thunder travel to Melbourne in search of their first win of BBL|03, against a Renegades side in must-win mode and bolstered by the return of Australian internationals Aaron Finch and James Pattinson.
After two disappointing performances, the Thunder welcome back Tillakaratne Dilshan and Luke Feldman in a bid to get on the board before an 11 day lay off in preparation for Sydney Smash 05, the final match of the season against the Sixers on January 25 at ANZ Stadium.
THUNDER CHANGES
As mentioned, two changes have been made to the squad that went down to Hobart on Saturday. Luke Feldman returns as Blake Dean is omitted, whilst Tillakaratne Dilshan comes in at the expense of Cameron Borgas. The Sri Lankan has missed the last two games with a minor back injury and must pass a fitness test to take his place in the side, with Borgas on standby.
THUNDER KEY BATSMAN
Usman Khawaja. Has made a successful return from a hamstring injury and been a solid presence at the top of the order. Enjoys the ball coming on and will look to get on top of the strong Renegades pace attack early in the innings.
THUNDER KEY BOWLER
Ajantha Mendis. The Sri Lankan baffled the Hurricanes on Saturday in Hobart, claiming 1/19 from his four overs. His slight variations in pace and spin proved very difficult to pick, and could be the difference against the Renegades.
RENEGADES DANGER MAN
Aaron Finch. The imperious opener blasted a ton in the opening ODI against England at the MCG on Sunday and has been released by Cricket Australia to play in this must-win clash for the Renegades. The leading run scorer in BBL|03, Finch must be dismissed early, otherwise the roof at Etihad Stadium could be copping another barrage.
X FACTOR
RENEGADES CHANGES
Just the one change has been made to the Renegades squad that lost heavily to the Stars in the second Melbourne derby, with Alex Doolan returning from Test duty to replace English international Jos Buttler. However, the Renegades were given a huge boost this morning when both Finch and James Pattinson were released from Australia’s ODI squad to take part in the game. The Thunder’s David Warner and Michael Clarke were not released from the squad.
THUNDER SQUAD
Mike Hussey (c)
Ryan Carters
Usman Khawaja
Tillakaratne Dilshan
Luke Feldman
Andrew Tye
Jason Floros
Kurtis Patterson
Ajantha Mendis
Dirk Nannes
Gurinder Sandhu
Chris Tremain
Daniel Hughes
MATCH DETAILS
The game starts at 7:40pm at Etihad Stadium, Tuesday 14th January, and will be broadcast Australia-wide through Channel Ten.
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