Lets discuss in detail Pitch report and Analysis of Docklands Stadium Melbourne.

Docklands Stadium is also known as Marvel Stadium. This stadium is located in Melbourne, Australia. This stadium was built in 2000. This stadium is the home ground of BBL team Melbourne Renegades.

In September 2018, the stadium was renamed Marvel Stadium after the stadium operators negotiated an eight-year deal with the Walt Disney Company, the parent company of Marvel Entertainment, to change the naming rights and install a Marvel retail store at the venue.

Which Cricket stadium has roof top ?

At Dockland stadium a roof has been built over this stadium, which is placed over the stadium when it rains.

What is the Capacity of Docklands Stadium Melbourne ?

The Siddon Park Hamilton has a seating capacity of about 50000 spectators.

Boundry Length/Size/Dimensions of Docklands Stadium Melbourne

Pitch Report and Analysis of Docklands Stadium Melbourne

Is Docklands Docklands Stadium Melbourne a batting pitch or bowling pitch?

The Renegades give Aaron Finch a winning send-off.

Melbourne Renegades vs Adelaide Strikers, 20th Match – BBL-2024-25

The last time the Renegades played at this venue just before Christmas, the outfield and pitch came under heavy criticism and there were calls for the Renegades to abandon the venue until later. We’ll have to wait and see what conditions will be on offer today.

The Renegades have ended up with an under-par total 142/9 here after being asked to bat. It was a tough surface to bat on though. There was plenty of swing and seam movement when the ball was new and the batters found it tough to get going. Only Josh Brown who waded through the initial phase was able to get going and he was by far the standout. He cashed in when the spinners came on and struck it around the park to end up with 66 off just 41. The Strikers’ two leggies found some grip and turn too when they landed it in the right areas and that meant Brown got little support at the other end apart from Bethel’s 21. The outfield is quite slow too and although 142 looks quite low, the Renegades will feel like they have a solid chance of defending this. For that, they’ll need to start well with the new ball. Back shortly with the chase.

Job done for the Strikers, thanks mainly to Chris Lynn’s blistering knock on a difficult pitch to bat on. He smashed 88 off just 51 balls to take the game away from the Renegades who would’ve been disappointed to finish where they did with the bat after being given an excellent platform by Josh Brown. Brown scored 66 off just 41, and they were 100/3 in the 14th over when he departed. But they collapsed after his dismissal to finish with just 142. That was still not the worst total on a pitch which was two-paced and offered variable bounce. But any hopes the Renegades would’ve had of defending the target were dashed quickly as Lynn came out swinging and rode his luck to play a superb knock. Adelide Strikers chased the score in 17 overs with 7 wickets lost.

Chris Lynn | Player of the Match: It was a little bit of a tricky wicket but I was able to take the game on. Got a couple in my zone and I was able to carry on. On a wicket like this, you’ve got to take the game on in the powerplay. It’s good viewing, we put out a good quality game tonight. Wanted to really try and kill the game, that’s why we took the surge.

Highest total at Docklands Stadium Melbourne in T20

The highest total in a T20 match at the Docklands Stadium is 223/8 made by Hobart Hurricanes against Melbourne Renegades in a league stage match of the Big Bash League 2016-17.

Batting first, Melbourne Renegades posted a huge total of 222/4 thanks to fifties by Tom Cooper and skipper Aaron Finch.

In reply, Ben McDermott and George Bailey led the charge for the Hurricanes, helping them breach the formidable target in a thrilling last-ball win.

Lowest total at Docklands Stadium Melbourne in T20

Melbourne Renegades were bundled out for 57 runs in a league phase fixture of BBL 2014-15, which is the lowest total recorded in T20s at the Docklands Stadium.

Chasing Melbourne Stars’ 170, Melbourne Renegades succumbed to their third loss in their opening four matches as an all-round bowling performance by the Stars rattled the hosts, with only Tom Cooper getting a double-digit score.

Average Score at Docklands Stadium Melbourne

Average score batting 1st at Docklands Stadium Melbourne is 165 in T20 International matches.

Other Factors taking into consideration with Pitch to predict the Winner

Toss too has affect on the match result. If the pitch is batting friendly. Then obviously team winning the toss love to bowl first and chase it down on a batting paradise pitch. It is easy to chase down total on a batting friendly pitch.

If the pitch is balanced one for both batters and bowlers, then toss has little impact on the match result.

If pitch has something for the bowlers. The team winning the toss love to bowl first and exploit the pitch in the 1st innings and bowl out the opposite site on low total. Even there are also fair chances for the team bowling in 2nd innings to restrict the side by exploiting the pitch pace and bounce. Turn if the pitch got slower and spin.

On pitches where pitches get slower with passage of time. Team want to bat first and exploit the slowness of pitch by bowling slow deliveries and by putting on spinners.

2.Host Team prepare Pitch on their Strength 

Host team always has advantage of their home grounds. Host team prepare pitches according to their team strengths. Like India make batting flat pitches as there batting is awlays strong and powerful. Sometimes against Australia and England, they make spin friendly pitches as Spin is their main weapon against these teams. Australia make pitches with pace and bounce as fast bowing at their home grounads is their main strength. This factor is also an important factor and can impact the match result also.

3.Dew affect on the Match Result

Dew also has affect on the match. If there is dew factor on the ground. Team love to chase as bowl became wet. Very difficult for the team bowling 2nd to grip the ball properly.

4.Weather Conditions affect on the Match Result

Weather too play the role. In case of rain, team try to chase the total as they have score in mind that is to be chased down.

5.Proper Discipline and Execution

Look at the matches played daily in the world. Some teams come to play on the stadium with proper planning,strategy and discipline. They excute better than the rival team. So team analysis is very important who is the captain of this team, team management and coaches, fighting instincts in the team etc.

For example, yesterday match was played between Mumbai Indians Women and Royal Challengers Women of WPL 2024. MI Women come with proper planning,goals and strategy even Harman preet Kaur and Shabnim Ismail were injured and not playing.

Another example is today match was played between Melbourne Renegades and Adelide Strikers of BBL 2024-25. Melbourne Stars scored 142 runs in 20 overs. In chase Adelide Strikers chased the score down in 17th over mainly because of some great hitting from Chris Lynn at the top. Lynn made 51 ball 88 runs and Darcy Short 20 runs in opening 1st wicket stand. That was indeed with proper discipline and execution. Match became one sided after the 2nd innings.

6.Strong team vs Weak Team 

Like Multans Sultans is appearing to be the most balanced team in PSL 2024. They have good batters and very strong squad in bowlinng too. Hence they are at the top in the points table. On the other hand Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings are weak in this PSL and they are at the bottom. Lahore Qalandars unable to find right combinnation without Rashid Khan, Tim David and some other overseas players absence.

Very important factor in winning the match is team analysis of two teams.Pitch conditions are exception if the match is b/w a strong team and a weak team. Strong team is always favorite to win a cricket match. In current era, India and Australia are strong teams. Both teams have quality batters and bowlers. They are always favorite whatever the pitch condition is. Same  applies to T20 leagues teams in IPL, BBL, PSL etc. Strong teams batters and bowlers have the requisite skills to win the match in their team favor. So team analysis is very important to assess before the match to preditct which team can win the match. For my point of view, team analysis is more important than pitch conditions. In BBL matches also strong and favorite teams have upper hand in the match.

7.Presence of X Factor Players in the Team

If one team has more X factor players then that team has more chance of winning the match. X factor players are those players who can win the match for his team single handedly. Like in first match of KKR in IPL 204, Andress Russell won match for KKR when they were in worse condition top batters were out. It seems that on batting friendly Eden Gardens Kolkata team was going to score only 140-150 but Andree Russel innings of 64 in just 25 balls with a strike rate of 256 with with seven 6s and three 4s.That was unbeliveable batting. Andree Russel also took 2 wickets as he is an all rounder.

Travis Head, Pat Cummins,Buttler,Pant, Chahal, Rashid Khan, Bumrah, Hardik Pandya,Rohit Sharma,Kohli, Siraj, Surayakumar Yadav,Pooran, Hasaranga,Parag,Abhishek Sharma,Jaiswal and many more are some of the examples of X factor players. If team has more X factors players like RR and SRH in IPL 204. These team have ofcourse more chance of winning the match and we are also seeing on ongoing IPL 2024. Both RR and SRH are winning.

X factor players are also called match winner players and they are purchased at a very high price and some clicket while the tournament goes on. Like Parag, Abhishek Sharma developed as match winners in IPL 2024.

8.Poor Team Selection/ Cominbation and Team Conflict

This is the responsiblity of the captain, team owners and team management to select the best strong and balanced team from auction and trade window. Otherswise team can suffer hugely. If playing XI is balanced with good team combination ofcourse the winning team is predictable almost 70%. Sometimes something is not in your hand like if the pitch is very batting friendly. Team chasing has 70% chance of winning.

That too is a big factor. Like in IPL 2024, Rajhastan Royals and SRH selcted the best team. Their think tank were wise and sharp. That is why they are enable to find the right combination and a perfect team. They have good analysis of players. They have more X factor players like Travis Head, Pat Cummins, Klassen, Buneshver kumar. Abhishek Sharma also clicked with a big impact. Same is the case of RR. They are now rebuild a strong balanced team. Team has many X factor players like Butler, Samson, Parag, Boult, Burger,Chahal, Sandeep Sharma, Ashwin. So both teams are winning even on batting friendly pitches of India.

Mumbai Indians this IPL 2024 is suffering at initial stage. Mumbai Indians replaced Rohit Sharma with Hardik Pandya as captain. MI unable to fight a very balanced and strong team for IPL 2024. The team is exposed. Also SRK Yadav is injured and Kishan is out of form. Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma are their X facctor players. But not all XI are plyaing their part. Their overseas selection is not performing at excellent level. Team combination is also suffering. Two big legends are in the team one joined the team sa captain and the other one is left by team managemnt. It also contributed negatively on the Mumbai Indians for IPL 2024.

Mumbai Indians lost plenty of followers on their social media platforms when Hardik Pandya replaced Rohit Sharma as Mumbai’s captain a few months back, and the Mumbai fans haven’t shown any mercy to their new skipper since the start of the tournament either. They have trolled Hardik at Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, and the crowd at the Wankhede can be even more brutal, given the history of IPL at this particular venue. Even Virat Kohli has been booed here in the past. Hopefully this backlash doesn’t dent Hardik’s confidence going forward. Can he put up a better performance and earn the trust of MI fans?

Mumbi Indians have not been helped by off-field issues which have threatned to derail their compaign this season if not being settled soon.

There is lot of pressure mainly on two big players, Hardi Pandya and Rohit Sharma to perform due to captaincy decision change.

9. Assessing the Pitch Conditions 

In T20 World Cup 2024 match, Sri Lanka will rue the fact that they did not show application while batting and did not assess the pitch or the conditions well. That’s where the game was lost. Another 30-40 runs on this and it could well have been a different story. Srilanka scored only 77 runs on a tricky slow surface. If they score 120. They can be in a position to win the match.

10. Home Ground and Home Crowd Advantage

There is also advantage of home ground. Australia always has the advantage of being the home team. Same likely Sydney Sixers has the advantage as Sydney cricket ground is where they prepare and train. Play home matches here in BBL. Then there are the fans, who always cheer and up the confidence of the home team by slogans and pleasing smiles and voices. These boosts up the confidence and energy of the home team. Like India in India is difficult to beat as being the favorites on home ground and having local crowed advantages who came to see them on the venue in thounsads.

Hope you enjoy the sports blog on pitch report and analysis of Docklands Stadium Melbourne.

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