A big crowd is expected on Sunday evening for the Big Bash final between the Melbourne Stars and Sydney Thunder
Stage set for exciting Big Bash finale
The weather
It's been predominantly grey skies around Melbourne for most of the weekend but it appears luck will be on our side; the weather has turned out fine on Sunday afternoon and organisers are hopeful of an uninterrupted final.
Squads
Melbourne Stars
David Hussey (c), Michael Beer, Jackson Coleman, Seb Gotch, Evan Gulbis, Peter Handscomb, Ben Hilfenhaus, Kevin Pietersen, Rob Quiney, Marcus Stoinis, Daniel Worrall, Luke Wright, Adam Zampa
Sydney Thunder
Mike Hussey (c), Fawad Ahmed, Aiden Blizzard, Jake Doran, Chris Green, Chris Hartley, Jacques Kallis, Nathan McAndrew, Usman Khawaja, Clint McKay, Ben Rohrer, Andre Russell, Shane Watson
Captains
Melbourne Stars
David Hussey hasn't been required to produce the big innings yet at BBL|05, with many of his teammates stepping up and doing the damage early on in the innings. He has 137 runs from six innings, with his best score yet the 36 he produced against the Scorchers that helped clinch the Stars a home semi-final.
Sydney Thunder
Mike Hussey - David's older brother - has defied his age of 40 this summer by proving yet again he is one of the best batsman in the land. Only Chris Lynn (378 runs) and Travis Head (299) have more runs than Hussey (288) this tournament and the Thunder skipper usually saves his best performances for the big stage.
WATCH: Mike Hussey in form for Thunder
Road to finals
Melbourne Stars
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Sydney Thunder
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Up-and-comer
Melbourne Stars
There were questions marks posed when the Stars lost a bunch of quality players to the national team, but Daniel Worrall has stepped up in their absence to prove his worth in this format. Worrall has seven wickets from just three matches, including an impressive 3-25 in the Stars' semi-final victory over the Perth Scorchers.
WATCH: Worrall destroys Scorchers
Sydney Thunder
Usman Khawaja has been making runs for fun this summer and it is worth noting he is the only batsman to score two centuries at BBL|05. The Thunder would love the Australian batsman to reach triple figures once again, while the Stars will be in the box seat if they pick up his wicket early on.
WATCH: Another Big Bash ton for Khawaja
Big game players
Melbourne Stars
Has there ever been a batsman in world cricket that rises to the big occasion better than Englishman Kevin Pietersen? He did it against Australia during the Ashes last decade and produced another match-winning performance when he scored a quick-fire 62 in the Stars' semi-final triumph just two days ago. KP has proven himself many times and it would be a huge surprise if he didn’t get among the runs once again.
WATCH: KP's match-winning knock
Sydney Thunder
When Thunder skipper Mike Hussey needs a wicket or someone to keep the run rate down he generally turns to Andre Russell and the West Indian rarely lets him down. Russell is the third leading wicket taker at the tournament with 15 scalps, while no one can top his strike rate of 192.30 with the bat.
WATCH: Russell on fire with the bat
Key moment of their campaign
Melbourne Stars
It wasn't until their understrength squad knocked over the Scorchers in Perth for 94 to clinch a home semi-final that the Stars really believed they could go all the way. With James Faulkner, Glenn Maxwell, John Hastings and Scott Boland off with the national team, Ben Hilfenhaus (3-17) and Daniel Worrall (3-15) stepped up to give the Stars that home semi-final they so deeply desired. It gave their squad the belief and has them playing confident cricket at the right time of the tournament.
WATCH: Hilfenhaus helps skittle Scorchers
Sydney Thunder
The Thunder had to win their last game of the regular season to stay in finals contention and they did so with aplomb with an impressive 46-run victory over their cross-town rival, the Sydney Sixers. Shane Watson showed his class with a quick-fire 66 and Andre Russell smashed four huge sixes to help the Thunder to a massive score of 5-202. With Clint McKay, Chris Green and Fawad Ahmed picking up three wickets each, the Sixers fell well short of the required target in reply.