Klinger's leadership crucial to Renegades title defence
17 December 2019
You won't find a bad reference from anyone who has ever dealt with Michael Klinger in Australian cricket, but a reference from latest Melbourne Renegades recruit Shaun Marsh carried extra weight given Klinger had no head coaching experience to assess, aside from his combined role as player, captain, and T20 mentor at Gloucestershire in the T20 Blast.
Aaron Finch, who sat in on the interview process for the coaching role, referenced Klinger's work at Gloucestershire and his phenomenal record as a player was enough to seal the deal.
"I think what really won everyone over was the experience Maxy [Klinger] has had at Gloucestershire," Finch said. "To run their T20 program, a lot of captaincy experience as well and then ultimately to take a side that wasn't on paper the highest-profile side and to continually make the finals with Gloucestershire, I think his experience in that regard shone through really well."
Klinger's appointment was a whirlwind experience. He was all set to be the Melbourne Stars' batting coach this season working under new coach David Hussey. He was also in the mix for the Australia selector job but withdrew after getting the Renegades role, with the job eventually going to George Bailey.
But the Renegades do things a little differently. Having a captain sit in on coaching recruitment is unusual but given the way Finch operated with McDonald last season in terms of strategy and selection, to ultimately take the title, it made sense.
The Renegades are a data-driven team built around maximising resources. Their title last season was a masterclass in how to squeeze the most out of the sum of their parts, with a squad cobbled together from all corners of the globe.
They are far from an old mates' club. The Renegades made the decision to release title-winning experienced player, and long-time Victorian servant Cameron White to recruit the country's most inform senior domestic pro in Western Australian Shaun Marsh to bolster their top order.
Klinger joins the squad with no intentions of shaking that mentality up despite experiencing a lot of success with Australia's best example of a one-team, year-round culture in the Perth Scorchers.
Klinger is confident they can go back-to-back. "We know we've got a good list," he said. "We've got a good mix of experienced players and some really good young guns coming through. My job will obviously be to support them and mentor the experienced ones and keep developing the younger ones and give them the best opportunity in a relaxed atmosphere to go out and play with freedom and aggressively."
Everyone at Gloucestershire Cricket wishes Maxy and the Melbourne Renegades the best of luck in their title defence of the Big Bash League. The Renegades kick start their campaign against Sydney Thunder on Thursday 19 December. Make sure you tune in to watch Klinger's side on BT Sport.
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