January 4: Melbourne Stars v Melbourne Renegades in Melbourne

Our XI: Beau Webster, Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh, Sam Harper, Kane Richardson, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Peter Handsomb, Dale Steyn, Adam Zampa, Nathan Coulter-Nile

NOTE: We might not always be able to tip you off about a late injury (or other relevant) updates. The above video was produced before Melbourne Stars left out Haris Rauf

Captain: Glenn Maxwell

Maxwell is capable of winning a match with the bat, that's well known. But he's had a good tournament with the ball so far too, which makes him a compelling pick as captain. His strike rate while batting is 186.95 this season, and he has not just been bowling economically - 7.11 - he has also been among the wickets - four so far. Maxwell is going to be in every team anyway, but to not have him as captain might hurt you.

Vice-captain: Aaron Finch

If the captain is from the Stars, it makes sense to have the vice-captain from the Renegades. Who better than Finch? The Renegades captain has been in a rich vein of form, scoring runs in every game. As a top-order batsman, he has the best opportunity to score big runs, and given his naturally attacking game and stroke play, he is one of those who makes that opportunity count more often than not.

Hot picks

Kane Richardson
He takes wickets without giving up runs - Richardson has been a captain's dream in the BBL so far, with eight wickets from five games at an economy of 6.05. He bowls in the tough periods - at the start and at the death - but that also means he's got the opportunity to pick up wickets.

Shaun Marsh

Marsh continues to be among the most reliable batsmen in the T20 format. No matter the competition, Marsh seems to always turn up and score runs. He's been doing that in this BBL too, with 190 runs from five innings, and looks a good bet to bank on for a substantial score, with the possibility of turning a solid score into a match-winning one too.

Marcus Stoinis

Allrounders are always valuable in T20 cricket, and when you've been in fine batting form like Marcus Stoinis has, they're even more desired. Stoinis has not had to turn his arm over, thanks to the Stars' strong bowling line-up, but he can be called on to bowl if the need arises. He's hit the right notes with his batting though, scoring 213 runs from five innings at a strike rate of 122.41.

Value picks

Sam Harper: Wicketkeeper-batsmen are valuable, and though Harper hasn't been among the runs, he has the tools to make it count. A proper 'value' pick, Harper bats in the top order and scores quickly when he gets going.

Beau Webster: Webster has had a superb season, one which includes hitting his best T20 score so far - 67 not out. He's also proved difficult to dismiss, and has been out just once in four matches, while keeping a high scoring rate. A must-have in your team.

Point to note

This will be the first BBL match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground this season. The large boundaries mean there will be the freedom for the likes of Adam Zampa to give the ball more air with greater confidence, but batsmen have also prospered handsomely. In the most recent T20 game here, Australia outclassed Sri Lanka in November 2019, hunting down a below-par target of 143 comfortably. Finch, Richardson and Zampa all played in that game, and all of them did reasonably well too.

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