Having endured disappointment runs during the previous season, Brisbane Heat will take on the Melbourne Renegades in the third match of the Big Bash League (BBL) 2022-23, at the Cazaly’s Stadium in Cairns on Thursday.
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With a host of players, both Australian and overseas set to miss a certain number of matches due to international commitments (or otherwise), both the sides will begin their campaign without a few of their key players.
Heat’s new signing and their designated skipper for the season Usman Khawaja, alongside Marnus Labuschagne and allrounder Michael Neser will miss the initial few matches as they are part of the Australian squad set to play against South Africa in a three-match Test series, starting December 17.
However, their new recruits in Kiwi batter Colin Munro and England wicket-keeper batter Sam Billings will be available for around half of the initial matches. They will be led by Jimmy Pierson in Khawaja’s absence.
As for Renegades, they will start the initial few matches having the services of the Windies T20 star Andre Russell, with Nic Maddinson set to lead the side. In Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh, they do have the required firepower in their arsenal to begin the season with.
BH vs MR pitch report today match
The Cazaly’s stadium in Cairns, will host its first-ever BBL match today. The stadium has in fact, conducted only two T20 matches till date. It had most recently hosted three ODIs between Australia and England in September this year.
In the aforementioned ODIs, the batters did find it challenging to execute their stroke play during the innings, including with the new ball. The bowlers usually have had the upper hand in the few White ball matches that have been played at this venue.
Across the two T20s here, the average score stands at 124 runs, which might give a fair idea as to what one can expect from the pitch today, although the sample size is way too small.
