BBL 2019-20 | Scorchers vs Renegades: Today I Learnt - a peep into Australia’s future and Liam Livingstone's heroics
Melbourne Renegades suffered their seventh consecutive loss in a row as Perth Scorchers romped them under the pump at the Simonds Stadium in Geelong. However, the game was a peek into Australia’s T20 future and also talked a lot about Liam Livingstone’s value as a T20 player.
Don’t give freebies to Liam Livingstone from the beginning
One of the hardest hitters of the cricket ball, Liam Livingstone has slowly made a name for himself in T20 leagues around the world. He might be too erratic a performer, with consistency never being his calling card, but once you give him freebies in the first couple of overs, he will punish you heavily. In a small cauldron of Geelong in Victoria, the Lancashire cricketer started up with a 110 S/R, gradually accelerating his innings above 150 S/R, to put the Renegades under pressure. After failing to take a wicket in the powerplay, the defending champions tried to attack Jos Inglis and Livingstone with the pace-spin combo of Dan Christian and Cameron Boyce but by then Livingstone was set, eventually leading the visitors to a comfortable win.
No light at the end of the tunnel for Renegades
Melbourne Renegades dominated their way to the finals last year and then rolled over the city rivals Stars to claim their maiden BBL title. However, that seems like a distant memory now, with them suffering seven losses in a row - an RCB like performance. With Kane Richardson picking wickets in one game and containing runs in the other, they really lack that one spell of burst which could give them some sort of semblance. Cameron Boyce is the only spinner in the side, who tries to restore sanity, but can he do the job alone? He needs an experienced spinner on his side but Samit Patel is not really the right man to get the job done. All in all, things seem to come to a point of no end as the Renegades approach one of the worst ends to a season.
Webster and Inglis promise Australian cricket a lot
Australia might have been an all-conquering team in Tests and ODI cricket but in T20s, they have massively underperformed over the years. Yet to win a World T20, Australia’s Big Bash League ability to work as a proper feeder system has been talked about widely. However, the ongoing season promises a lot, with the likes of Beau Webster, Josh Inglis and Sam Harper owning the stage. That was on the show in the game between Scorchers and the Renegades in which Inglis scored a fine half-century while Webster remained unbeaten on 59. More than the amount of runs scored, it was their free-flowing approach that should make Australia happy in the World T20 year.