Sydney Sixers captain Steven Smith says finding a way to break in-form duo Herschelle Gibbs and Marcus North's opening partnership could be the key to his side beating Perth in Saturday's KFC T20 Big Final.
The Scorchers finished top of the ladder, largely on the back of the outstanding top-order batting from the two veterans, before beating Melbourne in the semi-final to secure hosting rights for the decider.
South African veteran Gibbs has been in deadly form throughout the tournament, blasting 302 runs from his six games at a strike-rate of 152, while North has provided the steady hand to the combination, scoring at an average of 42.
In the five matches Gibbs and North have opened the batting together, their average partnership is 58.4.
Smith said it was vital for Sydney to break that combination early so they could try to exploit the rest of Perth's batting line-up
"They're playing very good cricket at the moment," he said. "They're striking the ball better than anyone in this competition."
"For us it's about putting pressure on them early."
"Hopefully then we can take a few wickets and get stuck into that middle order."
With Mitchell Starc rejoining Brett Lee in the team after being left out of Australia's team for the Adelaide Test, the Sixers have the firepower to test the Perth top-order and Smith said he was confident the two lively quicks would thrive in the pace-friendly conditions.
"It's great to see Mitch back swinging the ball. It's a valuable asset to us and to him going forward. He's bowling well at the moment," he said.
"And then the experience Brett brings to the side - he's played a lot of cricket and knows what he's doing. He's performed well throughout this tournament."
While the Scorchers enter the match as favourites, Sydney are also in formidable form after winning their last three matches of the regular season to secure third spot before upsetting Hobart in the semi.
In that run they also became one of just two sides to have beaten Perth, with a thrilling one-run win at the SCG, and Smith said entering the match in such good touch would help their cause.
"It's nice to have some momentum coming through," he said.
"But it's completely different conditions out here. We're both up for the challenge tomorrow and the best team on the night is going to win."
