Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
James Rosengarten moves quickly to set things straight.
The narrative of the Melbourne Renegades being Victoria’s second Big Bash League club doesn’t sit well with the general manager.
“It sits very uncomfortably,” he said.
The remark is typically attached to discussions around the Renegades’ future, as contracts at both Marvel Stadium and GMHBA Stadium in Geelong reach their end.
It has sparked external doubt on where their future truly lies: under the roof or down the highway?
On top of that looms BBL privatisation and the speculation the Renegades and Sydney Thunder could be first in line for sale.
Rosengarten speaks candidly on both and other topics in this wide-ranging interview, wanting the Renegades’ supporters to have a clear view on the club’s direction.
He loves the underdog role but passionately rejects the idea the Renegades are playing second fiddle to the Melbourne Stars.
“I love the challenger tag, I love the disrupter tag and I love that because you can work with that and it’s something to be proud of,” Rosengarten said.
“But the second team is not correct and there’s certainly nothing in what I do in Cricket Victoria and Cricket Australia that suggests that.
“As far as a stand-alone tag and in business, we’re absolute equals.
“This year’s ladder position was different but in previous years we’ve been stronger in both comps. I disagree with it (being called second).”
Discussions around a possible permanent move to Geelong have often accompanied the Renegades’ underdog narrative.
The Renegades have played out of Docklands since 2011 but have taken parts of their seasons to Kardinia Park since 2017.
Rosengarten calls the Geelong partnership “a success story” and considers the southwest a sound market for the Renegades, but says relocation remains a “long way” off.
“That first game was great and it was great to start the season like that,” he said.
“They’re a good partner of ours and the area is great for us a club but we’re a long way from a relocation – we’re a Melbourne club.
“We love playing down there, two games was good this year and it might be one or two games or something like that.
“It allows us to serve a big market for us, it’s a cool ground, that pitch and outfield is really nice now but (two games is) where it stands right now.
“We feel like it’s a home ground, it’s not the old selling of home games, we’re one of the fortunate sporting organisations in the world I reckon that have two home bases.”
The tricky and occasionally slow Marvel Stadium pitch has often been blamed for dismissals and even came up player recruitment discussions last year.
Rosengarten says there will always be interest in batting on pitches like Adelaide Oval but denies Marvel Stadium ever blocked the Renegades from recruiting star players.
“We always hear players want to play at the Adelaide Oval and score heaps of runs but not really, for an overseas player, playing in Melbourne is so strong that we’re getting hundreds of calls – it’s never been an issue,” he said.
“Playing under a roof, short square boundaries and every overseas player I have worked with comes and their eyes are falling out of their head looking at what it’s like in there.
“I think it’s a great place to play cricket now, runs are to be scored there, (Tim) Seifert is a good example of that, he’s got the hang of it.”
In fact, the Renegades have recruited their fair share of star power with the bat in recent seasons.
South African superstar Quinton de Kock ventured Down Under last season and Pakistani run-scorer Muhammad Rizwan was their prized pick this campaign.
Unfortunately for the Renegades, both batters produced modest returns and it was reflected on the ladder.
“I think in the Big Bash you need your big guys to be putting in the big performances,” Rosengarten said.
“That’s how I think those successful teams win, you look at (Perth Scorchers’) Ashton Turner, Finn Allen, those same names who are reliable.
“In any sports organisation but particularly Big Bash you need your high-end players to be reliably performing.
“So I think this season specifically, and last year, when you’re not having those higher-end guys not delivering – particularly from a runs perspective.
“The Hurricanes are a really good example of investing in local batters who are performing highly … it’s that: getting the performances the data suggests you should from those guys.”
Rizwan, due to his lack of scores at a low strike rate, was under heavy scrutiny and was even retired in a match against the Thunder.
Rosengarten says the Renegades recruited Rizwan to steadily blend a blazing top order.
He says Rizwan was polite, invested in the club direction and a team-first player, but admits the tactic didn’t work and doubts the Pakistani will be in red next season.
“Rizwan was a really interesting one, Cam (White), myself and Wade (Seccombe) put so much work into that explosive batting to make the really high scores,” he said.
“Not too dissimilar to how the girls were structured two years ago and they sort of changed the WBBL a little bit.
“So explosive run scoring and we overlap that with Laurie Evans, who was also explosive, but it was way too explosive and a bit up and down.
“Josh Brown, Tim Seifert, Jake Fraser-McGurk and then throw in a Rizwan who’s data suggests high balls per dismissal and a slightly slower strike rate but bats for longer periods, so we thought that would balance out the team.
“What he was doing this tournament wasn’t dissimilar to how he bats generally around the world, it’s 20 off 20 balls and then he’ll end up making 60 or 70 off 40.
“It wasn’t too far off other than he didn’t go on and deliver on one of those innings, so it’s hard when your big overseas guys don’t come in and fire.”
Rizwan could be back in the competition in different colours however, as could many other of the world’s best should the BBL run under private investment.
While the Renegades are linked to a private sale, Rosengarten says they can’t afford to waste time preparing for a possibility.
“I respect there’s broader conversations going on out there but I think for us day-to-day we’re doing exactly what we were doing this time last year,” he said.
“We’re still signing the players we want, the coaching panel we want, working with both Marvel and Geelong so fixturing all that kind of stuff, for us it’s business as usual”
Rosengarten, despite being the general manager of the club, is not in control of the direction.
That decision will ultimately come down to Cricket Australia powers and Cricket Victoria boss Nick Cummins.
Rosengarten trusts the right call will be made, but says the priority – regardless of outcome – should remain towards filling the stands and growing the product.
“I think it’s been well publicised that that sits with the state boards and CEOs, I am not in those conversations,” he said.
“Clearly running a franchise that is involved in those chats you want to know what is going on.
“But the reality of the situation is that it’s a conversation other people are having and it’s about us running our day to day as normal.
“I think the BBL has come through a stage, particularly post Covid, we’re at that time where people are flooding in and watching.
“Regardless of what we do, we need to keep growing those crowds. We had a Derby where there were 200 seats left … that’s the stage we need to get to (with all games).
“I think any decision made needs to grow the size of the BBL and populate it.”
