For the first time, the Stars and Renegades will have a trophy to play for beginning their BBL|15 Melbourne derbies in January
Now that there’s a large and colourful trophy on the line, the BBL’s Melbourne derby could be set for a return to the halcyon days.
In the 15th season of the competition, the Stars and Renegades will play for the Melbourne Mace, unveiled in weird and wacky scenes at the Fitzroy Town Hall on Friday.
Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece carried the 1.4m trophy, weighing more than 10kgs, down to Renegades captain Will Sutherland and Stars skipper Marcus Stoinis.
The presentation took place as trumpeters, dressed in green and red colours to match the teams, played the theme song to Rocky.
Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece at the unveiling of the Melbourne Mace at Fitzroy Town Hall
Reece is ambitiously hoping the BBL record crowd of 80,883 could topple when the Melbourne rivals meet at the MCG on January 4.
The high watermark was set back in January 2016 when the BBL derby comfortably topped the crowd for day one of the Boxing Day Test that summer.
But no BBL match since then has gone close to matching that astonishing night almost 10 years ago.
The rivalry truly kicked off in 2013 when the legendary Shane Warne had a memorable confrontation with West Indies allrounder Marlon Samuels, who was playing for the Renegades.
The creation of the mace surely points towards the Renegades remaining based in Melbourne long term.
The Renegades’ deal to play home matches at Marvel Stadium expires at the end of this season, with Geelong strongly bidding for their services.
Melbourne’s red team hosts two of their five home matches at GMHBA Stadium this summer.
But Cricket Victoria chief executive Nick Cummins last week said there would need to be a “very tempting” offer to even consider relocating the Renegades to Geelong.
“At the moment, we’re not seeing that,” Cummins said.
The Stars, who are the only BBL franchise not to have won a title, started their campaign in perfect fashion on Thursday night when Stoinis’ all-round efforts powered them to a crushing win over reigning champions Hobart.
Melbourne Stars v Hobart Hurricanes | BBL|15
The Renegades will attempt to go 2-0 when they host the Hurricanes in Geelong on Sunday night.
“The Stars look really good, the (Perth) Scorchers look strong, Hurricanes are reigning champs,” Sutherland said.
“Every team is really strong this year, but we’re happy to slide under the radar.Â
“We’ll just do our thing, and hopefully be there at the back end.”
The awarding of the Melbourne Mace will also extend to the WBBL.
The second BBL derby of the summer will be held at Marvel Stadium on January 10.
KFC BBL|15 standings
Team
Matches played
M
Wins
W
Losses
L
Ties
T
No results
N/R
Net Run Rate
NRR
Deductions
Ded.
Total points
PTS
1
Melbourne Stars Men
STA
1
1
0
0
0
2.037
0
2
2
Melbourne Renegades Men
REN
1
1
0
0
0
0.7
0
2
3
Perth Scorchers Men
SCO
2
1
1
0
0
0.365
0
2
4
Adelaide Strikers Men
STR
1
1
0
0
0
0.326
0
2
5
Brisbane Heat Men
HEA
2
1
1
0
0
-0.277
0
2
6
Hobart Hurricanes Men
HUR
2
1
1
0
0
-0.906
0
2
7
Sydney Thunder Men
THU
1
0
1
0
0
-0.126
0
0
8
Sydney Sixers Men
SIX
2
0
2
0
0
-0.616
0
0
Legend
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points