The Melbourne Renegades return to Geelong to take on the Sydney Sixers on Friday night, with the winner to join the Perth Scorchers at the top of the table.
But the Sixers will take a depleted attack into the contest, after opting to rest star Sean Abbott – and delay his looming 100th BBL match for another few days.
“It’s probably out of his control but I hate resting,” Fox Cricket’s Brett Lee said.
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“I think when a bowler’s doing well and on top of their game, they should get to keep playing – they are only bowling four overs.
The Sixers have been dealt a packed festive season schedule, with four games in just six days.
But commentator Mark Waugh agreed he’d like to see Abbott out on the ground, than sitting on the bench.
“When you’re in form, you like to keep going. You probably get more work running the drinks and warm ups that you do playing,” he said.
It’s been just two days since the teams last met, with the Sixers claiming a convincing 34-run win thanks to man of the match Ben Dwarshuis’ 4-17.
Josh Philippe did the damage with the bat for Sydney, smashing 55 off 40 balls, in Wednesday night’s win. And the Sixers will unveil new recruit Chris Jordan – in place of the rested Sean Abbott.
But the Renegades are back at GMHBA Stadium on Friday night; the ground where they overcame a Michael Neser hat-trick for the Brisbane Heat to record their third straight win.
The Melbourne outfit have been the surprise packet of BBL12 so far, after consecutive seasons in the doldrums.
This summer, Aaron Finch has found form and they’ve got veteran Shaun Marsh back from injury to bolster their line up.
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But they head into Friday night’s match on the back of a two-game losing streak.
“It’s been obvious our batting just hasn’t stood up in the last two games,” Renegade Peter Handscomb said on SEN.
“With the personnel that we’ve got, we’ll back ourselves to chase those totals down most days.
“I think we’re a little bit frustrated.”
They’ll take an unchanged line up into their second clash with the Sixers, with captain Nic Maddinson shrugging off his injury scare earlier this month.
Maddison rolled his ankle as he came in to celebrate a wicket with teammates, pre-Christmas but showed no ill effects in Wednesday’s clash.
The Sixers remain without spinner Stephen O’Keefe, who has remained in Sydney, after picking up a hamstring injury in Monday’s Boxing Day win over the Melbourne Stars.
But they’ve been boosted by the inclusion of import Chris Jordan for Friday night’s clash, as he was named in the 14-man squad.
The Englishman joined teammates for the trip to Victoria, in what would be his first appearance in the BBL in more than a year.
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TEAMS
Renegades: Martin Guptill, Nic Maddinson (c), Shaun Marsh, Aaron Finch, Jonathan Wells, Peter Handscomb (wk), Akeal Hosein, Will Sutherland, Tom Rogers, Kane Richardson, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Sixers: Josh Philippe (wk), Kurtis Patterson, James Vince, Moises Henriques (c), Jordan Silk, Dan Christian, Hayden Kerr, Ben Dwarshuis, Chris Jordan, Jackson Bird, Izharulhaq Naveed
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