History
Melbourne Renegades are former one-time champions in the Big Bash League, but their overall record in the tournament has been pretty ordinary. Including the title-winning campaign, Melbourne Renegades, popularly known as The Gades have only made it to the playoffs thrice in 10 editions. The 2018-19 BBL winners, the Renegades, were subjected to wooden spoons in the last two seasons.
Melbourne Renegades: Big Bash League Results With Captains
| Year | Captain | Result |
| 2020-21 | Aaron Finch / Shaun Marsh | 8th place |
| 2019-20 | Aaron Finch / Dan Christian | 8th place |
| 2018-19 | Aaron Finch / Tom Cooper | Champions |
| 2017-18 | Aaron Finch / Dwayne Bravo | Semi-finals |
| 2016-17 | Aaron Finch / Cameron White | 5th place |
| 2015-16 | Aaron Finch | 5th place |
| 2014-15 | Aaron Finch / Ben Rohrer | 6th place |
| 2013-14 | Aaron Finch / Ben Rohrer | 6th place |
| 2012-13 | Aaron Finch | Semi-finals |
| 2011-12 | Andrew McDonald | 7th place |
Melbourne Renegades started their BBL journey under the leadership of Andrew McDonald. Their squad for the inaugural season was strong with local stars like Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell, Brad Hodge and Dirk Nannes, along with overseas imports Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq. But they had a terrible season, finishing seventh with only two victories.
The Gades released a few star players ahead of the next BBL season, including captain McDonald and appointed Aaron Finch as the skipper while bringing in Ben Rohrer and spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan. The Renegades topped the points table, losing only one game in the regular season. However, their impressive campaign ended in the semi-finals as Brisbane Heat beat them by 15 runs.
For the subsequent four editions, despite signing some outstanding players like Matthew Wade, Chris Gayle, Cameron White, Peter Siddle, Sunil Narine and Brad Hogg, the Renegades finished outside the top 4.
Melbourne Renegades revived their squad in the BBL 2017-18, signing players like Kieron Pollard, Brad Hodge, Kane Richardson and Mohammad Nabi. After finishing third on the table, they reached the playoffs for the second time with six wins out of 10 matches. But yet again, they were knocked out in the semi-finals – this time by Adelaide Strikers.
With the new signings of Dan Christian, Harry Gurney and Cameron Boyce, the Renegades became a stronger unit in the 2018-19 BBL. They secured second place in the points table and defeated Sydney Sixers in the semi-finals to reach their first BBL final. The Melbourne Derby final was witnessed by nearly 41000 spectators, where the Gades came out victorious by 13 runs from nowhere to clinch their maiden BBL title.
Melbourne Renegades Squad for Big Bash League 2021-22
Batters: Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh, Nic Maddinson, Marcus Harris, Mackenzie Harvey, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sam Harper, James Seymour, Unmukt Chand
All-rounders: Mohammad Nabi, Will Sutherland, Jonathan Merlo
Bowlers: Kane Richardson, James Pattinson, Reece Topley, Zahir Khan, Josh Lalor, Mitchell Perry, Jack Prestwidge, Zak Evans
The Renegades, who finished two consecutive seasons at the bottom of the table, needed reinforcements for BBL 11. With Aaron Finch stepping down from the captaincy after nine seasons, Nic Maddinson was appointed the skipper. They were further depleted by the unavailability of their superstar duo Finch and Shaun Marsh due to injuries. Marcus Harris also misses out because of his participation in the Ashes. Reece Topley, Zahir Khan and Mohammad Nabi are three overseas recruits for this season. Kane Richardson and James Pattinson are the frontline pacers for the Gades. All in all, they have been in worse shape than expected due to the players’ unavailability.
Melbourne Renegades: BBL 2021-22 Fixtures
| Date & Day | Fixture | Venue | Time (IST) |
| December 7, 2021, Tuesday | Melbourne Renegades vs Adelaide Strikers | Marvel Stadium, Melbourne | 1:45 PM |
| December 9, 2021, Thursday | Adelaide Strikers vs Melbourne Renegades | Adelaide Oval | 1:45 PM |
| December 13, 2021, Monday | Brisbane Heat vs Melbourne Renegades | Metricon Stadium, Queensland | 1:45 PM |
| December 22, 2021, Wednesday | Melbourne Renegades vs Perth Scorchers | Marvel Stadium, Melbourne | 1:45 PM |
| December 26, 2021, Sunday | Perth Scorchers vs Melbourne Renegades | Optus Stadium, Perth | 1:45 PM |
| December 29, Wednesday | Melbourne Renegades vs Hobart Hurricanes | Marvel Stadium, Melbourne | 3:45 PM |
| January 1, 2021, Saturday | Sydney Sixers vs Melbourne Renegades | Coffs Harbour Stadium, New South Wales | 1:45 PM |
| January 3, 2022, Monday | Melbourne Stars vs Melbourne Renegades | Melbourne Cricket Ground | 2:00 PM |
| January 6, 2022, Thursday | Melbourne Renegades vs Brisbane Heat | GMHBA Stadium, Victoria | 12:35 PM |
| January 8, 2022, Saturday | Melbourne Renegades vs Sydney Thunder | Marvel Stadium, Melbourne | 12:35 PM |
| January 11, 2022, Tuesday | Melbourne Renegades vs Sydney Sixers | GMHBA Stadium, Victoria | 1:45 PM |
| January 13, 2022, Thursday | Melbourne Renegades vs Melbourne Stars | Marvel Stadium, Melbourne | 2:00 PM |
| January 17, 2022, Monday | Hobart Hurricanes vs Melbourne Renegades | Blundstone Arena, Hobart | 2:10 PM |
| January 19, 2022, Wednesday | Sydney Thunder vs Melbourne Renegades | Sydney Showground | 11:10 AM |
The Numbers That Matter
Batting Stats
It is no surprise that Aaron Finch, who is the longest-serving player for the Renegades and has led the side in 69 matches, leads the batting charts. Finch has amassed 2431 runs for the club at an average of 34 and a strike rate of 135. Finch has been in the only centurion for the franchise in 10 seasons, having done it twice with the highest individual score of 111*. He also has the most fifties for the Gades – 18 from 76 innings. Shaun Marsh has the record for scoring most runs a season for the club when he amassed 449 runs from 12 matches in the BBL 2019-20.
Bowling Stats
The Aussie international Kane Richardson has picked up the most wickets for the Renegades. The right arm pacer has claimed 66 wickets in 44 matches across four BBL seasons. Richardson is the only bowler to have picked multiple four-wicket hauls for the Gades, and he has done it five times. The best bowling figures were claimed by Dwayne Bravo for his 4-0-28-5 against Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL 2017-18.
Team Stats
Melbourne Renegades have the third-highest total in an innings to their credit, having smashed 222/4 against Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL 2016-17. Apart from that, they have one record to their name, which they wouldn’t be fond of. The Renegades have recorded the two lowest totals in the history of the tournament – 57 all-out against Melbourne Stars in the BBL 2014-15 and 60 all-out against Sydney Sixers in the BBL 2020-21.
Melbourne Renegades: Rivalries
| Opponent | Match Played | Won | Lost | Win Percentage (%) |
| Sydney Thunder | 13 | 9 | 4 | 69% |
| Melbourne Stars | 20 | 6 | 14 | 30% |
| Perth Scorchers | 14 | 3 | 11 | 21% |
Melbourne Stars
The Melbourne Derby is one of the most anticipated clashes in the Big Bash League. The Renegades and Stars, having to split the local talents from Victoria, have seen quite a few players who have represented both the clubs at some point.
The on-field results, however, have been extremely lopsided. In the 20 encounters between the two sides, the Stars have claimed victory in 14 matches while the Renegades have won only 6 of those.
The Renegades have their second-worst win percentage against the Stars at 30%. But their ‘having the last laugh’ moment came when they defeated the Stars in the BBL 8 final to claim their first championship.
Sydney Thunder
The Renegades have a positive head to head record against only three teams in the Big Bash League. They have the best win percentage of 69% against Sydney Thunder. The Gades have defeated the Thunder in nine of 13 encounters. The average innings score by them against the Thunder reads 146.3 while they have conceded 140.3 runs in an innings on average.
Perth Scorchers
Melbourne Renegades have the worst record against Perth Scorchers, with a win percentage of just 21%. They have competed in 14 matches in the BBL, of which the Renegades have only managed to win three. On average, they have scored 147.8 runs and conceded 157.2 in an innings against the Scorchers.
Melbourne Renegades: The Road Ahead
Melbourne Renegades started the ongoing season well with a thrilling victory over Adelaide Strikers by 2 runs. But they lost the return fixture by 49 runs away from home. With some key players missing and the team combination not looking great, another season with a bottom three finish could be on the cards for the Gades.
