BBL10: The bizarre squad decisions which will make Melbourne Renegades rebuild tough

One Melbourne Renegades bowler has played five of a possible 50 games — yet has been on a four-year deal. Here’s what’s gone wrong since the franchise won the BBL08 title.

Aaron Finch has had an unlucky run of outs this Big Bash season. Picture: Getty Images

Rewind five years and 80,883 fans streamed into the MCG for the Big Bash League’s Melbourne derby.

It was a perfect storm as the record crowd for a domestic cricket match was smashed.

In the red corner was self-proclaimed “Universe Boss” Chris Gayle, world cricket’s most watchable megastar.

And in the green corner was box-office batsman Kevin Pietersen. Sacked Stars skipper Cameron White was loudly booed when he walked out as a Renegade, the tribal noise franking the validity of a burgeoning cross-town rivalry.

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the Renegades celebrate their BBL title in 2019. Picture: AAP

Then, less than two years ago these franchises sold out Marvel Stadium in just hours for a derby grand final, which was won by the Renegades.

But when the Big Bash rolls into Melbourne on Thursday it will do so fighting for relevance.

On Thursday marquee man Glenn Maxwell came out to bat after midnight, and his Stars have the wobbles after four losses in five games.

But it is the Renegades, and their coach Michael Klinger, that are on red alert.

With aces Aaron Finch and Kane Richardson available for the full season, Mike Hussey predicted they would be this summer’s bolter.

Instead they remain bolted to the bottom of the ladder and looking at back-to-back wooden spoons.

The Renegades opted for Michael Klinger as coach ahead of England’s World Cup-winning coach Trevor Bayliss.

THE COACH

England’s World Cup-winning coach Trevor Bayliss was considered for the Renegades job only months after that famous Super Over tie against New Zealand at Lord’s.

Given Bayliss’s global connections, who knows which overseas stars he could’ve influenced to play in red?

Instead Michael Klinger won the vacancy and, after last season’s mulligan – where Klinger had just three weeks to make his mark on the reigning champions – he was re-signed for another two BBL seasons.

The Stars had Klinger locked in as their batting coach last season, only for Australia to poach Renegades coach Andrew McDonald and Klinger to swap green for red at the last minute.

The mulligan was fair enough.

But this summer’s seven-match losing run – where the Gades were bowled out 60, 80, 89 and 111 – was unacceptable, although Mohammed Nabi’s matchwinning knock on Friday night released some of the tension.

The resources are skinnier now.

When McDonald was in charge the Renegades had access to gun analyst Stephen Nicholls, who also helps Chris Scott’s Geelong Cats, and the boffins at CricViz.

Highly-regarded assistant Lachie Stevens was also in the old coach’s box, but he now steers the WBBL team.

Klinger, (five wins, 18 losses) is contracted for another 19 games and knows that in a results-driven industry the next five matches this season will go a long way to deciding his short-term future.

There are excuses worth considering. Klinger built a list made for home games at Marvel Stadium’s slow, spinning wickets, where they are yet to play.

Wicket-taker Cameron Boyce (health reasons) has been unavailable, South African Imran Tahir decided he didn’t want to quarantine and, once again, the red team’s world imports have been among the worst in the competition.

Cameron White celebrates with Dan Christian in the 2019 BBL final won by the Renegades. Picture: AAP

THE WHITE KNIGHT?

Behind the scenes there is a growing buzz about Victorian legend Cameron White.

An assistant coach at Adelaide Strikers, White has made such an impact that Jason Gillespie has a job lined up for him at the South Australian Cricket Association.

Adelaide vice-captain Alex Carey has loved working with White, who has caught the coaching bug and has a cricket brain sharper than a Stanley knife. Already it is White addressing the Strikers at the time-out and filling in for Gillespie at boundary-side TV interviews.

But losing White to the Redbacks would be a bitter blow for Cricket Victoria, which has a good strike-rate of holding on to its domestic champions.

Chris Rogers, Michael Klinger, David Hussey, Clint McKay, Mick Lewis and Michael Beer are all on the coaching books and it is understood CV operations chief Shaun Graf will meet White this week, who is in town for the Strikers’ pair of games at the MCG.

That will be a fascinating conversation.

White has worked with Victoria’s under-17s and 19s and the favourite son played 34 games for the Stars and 35 for the Renegades.

He would be a shrewd addition … although, right now, at least, there doesn’t appear to be room for him.

Eddie McGuire, with Shane Warne in 2012, has been lost to the Melbourne Stars.

THE IN-HOUSE STRUCTURE

Cricket Victoria’s decision to absorb the boards and bring their franchises in-house only months after they played off in that Grand Final remains a point of contention.

Stars president Eddie McGuire and Renegades counterpart Jason Dunstall were shown the door, and their network of top-shelf contacts was lost to the sport.

For example, what a resource Stars vice-president and businessman John Wylie was when it came to recruiting players.

The old model was based on how Fremantle and West Coast reported to the WAFL and it appeared to be working beautifully.

The Gades and Stars were No. 1 and 2 on the ladder, No. 1 and 2 commercially and boasted big membership numbers.

Under the new structure Renegades general manager David Lever reports to Stars general manager Nick Cummins.

Can you imagine the uproar if Essendon chief executive Xavier Campbell reported to Richmond boss Brendon Gale?

Feedback has suggested that player experiences are also down.

But CV heavies argue there is no link between the new set up and on-field results, given Stars collected the wooden spoon in BBL07 and Renegades played finals just once in the first six seasons.

For all of Chris Gayle’s controversy, he certainly put bums on seats as the most watchable player on the planet.

COMMERCIAL BATTLES

The Stars played off in the past two Grand Finals, but on the cusp of this season they were searching for a major sponsor for the front of their jersey.

The financial climate is tougher than ever and so it was understandably a tough assignment.

Aussie Broadband came to the party late – but, in internet terms, you suspect they secured the sponsorship at a dial-up rate compared to what former partner Optus forked out.

Renegades promoters have it tough, too, encouraging fans to attend their final five games after a series littered with batting collapses.

It was heartwarming for Afghan spinner Noor Ahmed to celebrate his 16th birthday in the Gades’ hub last week.

But sweet 16s won’t put bums on seats like Gayle did, and the membership base of 15,000 has dwindled considerably.

Dropping the wickets into the AFL-owned Marvel Stadium will leave somebody with a bill in the vicinity of $250,000 – to play five games which are likely to be attended by a combined crowd of about 35,000.

It’s hard to imagine the money-hungry AFL going easy on the hiring fees, too.

Aaron Finch has shown his frustration this season, and is averaging just 18.25 runs with a top score of 39.

WHAT’S UP WITH FINCHY?

Finch looks frustrated. Who could blame him?

“Tell Helmo (assistant coach Simon Helmot) that when he’s captain he can decide,” was Finch’s blunt advice to leg-spinner Peter Hatzoglou that was caught on the player mic.

Australia’s white-ball captain is on a weird run of unlucky dismissals and the 34-year-old is in charge of a baby batting line-up that must be a foreign feeling.

Finch and Shaun Marsh are close mates, but it would be understandable if enjoyment waned after the departures of McDonald, White, Dan Christian and Brad Hodge.

The face of the franchise recently signed on for another two seasons. But if another club wanted to have a crack maybe now is the time.

After all, didn’t Luke Hodge finish up a Brisbane Lion?

Jon Holland has played five games in four seasons, and in one of them he wasn’t even given a bowl.

THE LIST

Expect more of the same for Renegades next season. The Sunday Herald Sun understands only three local players fall out of contract this season – boom kid Mackenzie Harvey, reigning club champion Beau Webster and bench player Jon Holland.

Somehow Holland, 33, has been contracted for four years despite being pigeonholed as a red-ball specialist.

The former Test spinner has played just five out of a possible 50 games in red – and one of those five was a semi-final, where he didn’t bat or bowl.

Big Bash players do not receive match payments, instead getting their full whack regardless of their on-field impact, and so it has been a juicy dollars-per-delivery ratio for ‘Dutchy’.

Only three players from the Renegades’ championship-winning team remain in the XI – Finch, wicketkeeper Sam Harper and Harvey.

Gone from the squad are White (retired), Tom Cooper (Heat), Dan Christian (Sixers), Chris Tremain (Thunder) and Harry Gurney.

The only Renegades with ticks this season would be Shaun Marsh, Kane Richardson, Jack Prestwidge and replacement player Hatzoglou.

It is understood the Stars are also set for minimal turnover with only Nic Maddinson, Lance Morris and Clint Hinchcliffe uncontracted for next summer.

Franchises elsewhere have far greater flexibility.

Sources said that the Scorchers have 11 players unsigned, Heat nine while both Sydney teams have six.

THE MISTAKES

McDonald was a stickler for detail, and you just wonder whether some of the costly errors would’ve occurred under his watch.

Against Sydney Thunder it appeared an inability to read the radar hurt them … twice.

Batting first, they didn’t take the power surge before the rain came, and then allowed rain to lash again before they had exhausted strike weapon Kane Richardson’s allotment of overs.

It resulted in a frustrating loss of seven runs on Duckworth-Lewis.

Underwhelming import Rilee Rossouw appeared to have a dig at the brains trust against Hobart for taking the power surge too late.

You wonder whether the flow of communication is working in the red camp.

Under McDonald the brilliant strategist and planner, information would get funnelled to the top — and he and Finch would always have the final say.