Big Bash League 2023-24: Top run-getters and wicket-takers after Melbourne Stars vs Melbourne Renegades ft. Shaun Marsh and Jake Frazer McGurk
In the first game of the Big Bash League 2023-24 on Saturday, Perth Scorchers beat Brisbane Heat by 35 runs at the Perth Stadium.
Valuable contributions from Laurie Evans (26 off 22), Cooper Connolly (35 off 25), and an unbeaten knock from Nick Hobson (48 off 30) helped Scorchers reach a competitive score of 163 in their 20 overs. In response, Brisbane Heat folded up for just 128.
Brisbane openers, Josh Brown (29 off 22) and Jimmy Peirson (42 off 41), got off to a pretty good start, adding 55 runs for the opening wicket. However, once that partnership was broken, wickets fell in quick succession. Andrew Tye, who picked wickets at crucial intervals, was supported well by Lance Morris.
Andrew Tye returned with outstanding figures of 4-14 in four overs, while Lance Morris claimed three wickets for 26 runs in four overs.
In the second game on Saturday, Melbourne Renegades registered a six-wicket win over Melbourne Stars at Docklands Stadium in Melbourne. The Stars were restricted to just 137, batting first, courtesy of a collective bowling effort from the Renegades.
Both Stars openers, Thomas Rogers (23 off 17) and Daniel Lawrence (8 off 5), departed inside the power play. Captain Maxwell looked solid during his 10-ball 20-run knock, but Kane Richardson sent him back to put the pressure back on the Stars.
Wickets continued to fall, but a 30-ball 38 from Cartwright meant that the Stars had some sort of a total to defend. However, it didn’t prove enough, as it took only 17.2 overs for the Renegades to chase it down.
Shaun Marsh led the way with the bat with a match-winning knock of 64 in 49 deliveries, including 10 fours. He received valuable support from Jake Frazer-McGurk, who made 42 off 31.
Big Bash League 2023-24 Most Runs List
Mathew Short stays at the top of the Big Bash League runs tally with 435 runs in eight games, followed by the likes of Chris Lynn (304) and Aaron Hardie (296) in second and third, respectively.
Jake Frazer-McGurk played a stellar knock of 42 off 31 on Saturday to move up to fourth in the points table. McGurk has 257 runs in nine games at an average of 32. At number five is Colin Munro, who has managed 224 runs in seven games.
James Vince stays in sixth with 222 runs in eight Big Bash League games at an average of 31.71. Lorie Evans closely follows him in seventh with 220 runs in nine games, followed by Darcy Short (216), Cameron Bancroft (216) and Alex Hales (215).
Big Bash League 2023-24 Most Wickets List
XC Bartlett stays at the top of the wickets tally with 16 wickets in eight games. Louis Morris’s exceptional spell against Brisbane Heat took him to second spot with 13 wickets in seven games at an average of 12.76.
Paul Walter is third with 13 wickets, while Jamie Overton is fourth with as many wickets. Jason Behrendorff (12) and Daniel Sams (12) are fifth and sixth, respectively.
Andrew Tye returned with four wickets against Brisbane Heat to move to seventh with 11 wickets in eight games.
Spencer Johnson is only one wicket short of Tye and is eighth. Nathan Ellis, at ninth, also has 10 wickets. Mathew Kuhnemann rounds off the Big Bash League top-ten wicket charts with nine wickets in eight games.