Action kicks off tonight with the Melbourne derby between the Stars and the Renegades at the MCG and wraps up with a double feature on Sunday. A couple of members of the triumphant Aussie Test team have released back to their teams for the round, and a couple of big international signings are unavailable for various reasons. I’ve never had any luck with proper cricket tipping comps, so I’m not entering one this year, I’ll just post my picks here instead.

• Stars v Renegades (MCG) – I’m picking the Stars. They were bested by their neighbours in red twice last year, but I don’t think they’ve shown the full potential of the talent they have in their squad.
• Sixers v Thunder (SCG) – I’m going with the Thunder for an early season upset, they’ve overhauled their squad, they’ll have Warner back, and they are due considering they haven’t won since December 23rd… 2011.
• Hurricanes v Strikers (Blundstone Arena) – Both have good sides, but I’m tipping the Hurricanes. They’ll have homeground advantage, and based on BigBashBoard numbers they are the highest ranked team in the comp.
• Heat v Scorchers (Gabba) – The Heat are defending champs, and they’ll be playing at home. For those reasons its hard to go past them.