The Melbourne Renegades will part ways with BBL coach David Saker despite having one year left on his contract after another dismal season in which they finished seventh.
Saker, 57, was hired to coach the Renegades for the 2024-25 season, which would have been his fourth in charge after taking over in 2021. But after a disappointing season in which the Renegades finished second-to-last and won just two games, they were also fired. captain Nic Maddinson, it is understood the Renegades will be looking for a fresh start once again as Saker’s tenure ends early.
The Renegades have been the worst-performing club in the BBL since Andrew McDonald coached them to their inaugural title in 2018-19. McDonald stepped down immediately after claiming that title as he joined the Australian team as an assistant before eventually becoming the national head coach in 2022.
Michael Klinger took over as Renegades coach for the 2019-20 season, but lasted only two summers, as the Renegades finished last in the BBL for two consecutive seasons. Klinger departed to take up an administrative role at Cricket New South Wales.
Saker was signed for 2021-22, but the Renegades finished last for the third year in a row before bouncing back to finish third in 2022-23, winning seven games and hosting the Knockout, where they were defeated by eventual finalists Brisbane Heat.
But in 2023-24, the Renegades fell back again. They were winless in their first five games and only managed to win two of their last five. They experienced a huge turnover of players, with Maddinson sacked as captain while Aaron Finch was in and out of the team before finishing his BBL career. Shaun Marsh also only played five games due to injury issues before announcing his retirement.
The Renegades have already made some changes to the roster in the off-season signing Brisbane Heat opener Josh Brown in the hope of being able to form a dynamic opening duo with Jake Fraser-McGurk.
The Renegades are also looking to appoint a new high performance manager who will oversee the cricket programme. Melbourne Stars have advertised a similar position. Cricket Victoria created the two roles to try and build a better link between the Victorian men’s program and the two Victoria BBL clubs, given that they have operated as three separate entities without much connection in recent years.
