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Henriques returns for Sixers

Allrounder set to resume BBL season alongside a quartet of internationals

Having spent two weeks away from the game Sydney Sixers star allrounder Moises Henriques will return in Saturday's Sydney Smash against cross-town rivals the Thunder at the SCG.

The Sixers announced on December 30 that Henriques would take personal leave from the KFC BBL, however he is now set to resume the season but not as captain.

Stand-in skipper Johan Botha will continue to lead the side and is elated to have Henriques back for one of the marquee games of the tournament. 

"He's good to play," said Botha on Friday when asked about Henriques.

"He'll come into the team, that's obviously great to have again – a really good player, one of the leaders of the team but I don't think he's going to have the full leadership yet. 

"It's not that I want it. I've enjoyed it but Mo will just come in and bat wherever we'll need him and just run around the outfield a bit to ease back into it. 

"He's obviously been a really good player for a long time so that's a great addition."

Match highlights: Thunder score tense win over Scorchers

Botha confirmed Henriques will bowl, adding another dimension to the winless Sixers who welcome Test players Nathan Lyon and Jackson Bird along with international recruits Carlos Brathwaite and Joe Denly.

Meanwhile the Thunder have named an unchanged squad for the must-win clash from the side that beat the Perth Scorchers on Thursday night after almost snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Needing 24 off the last over, Scorchers pair Hilton Cartwright and Cameron Bancroft got the equation to five runs off one ball before left-armer Mitchell McClenaghan held his nerve to secure the tense win. 

Scorchers almost steal a thriller in Sydney

Sitting in sixth place on the BBL ladder with three wins and four losses, the Thunder can't afford to drop another game or face the prospect of missing out on the finals.

"It's an important time of the season," said Thunder skipper Shane Watson. 

"This is where we've got to build momentum, we've got no excuses. 

"And after doing what we could to nearly lose that last game from the position we were in I think that's going to give us a lot of confidence anyway to know that we can get in very dominating positions against one of the top teams and get over the line. 

"In these tournaments for things to go your way, fall over the line of a tight one it can really get momentum going your way and we certainly have got to make the most of that."

England's Test No.3 James Vince missed last night's match for the Thunder with illness but has been retained in the squad. 

SYDNEY SIXERS: Johan Botha (c), Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird, Carlos Brathwaite, Joe Denly, Ben Dwarshuis, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Nathan Lyon, Nic Maddinson, Peter Nevill, Daniel Sams, Jordan Silk

SYDNEY THUNDER: Shane Watson (c), Fawad Ahmed, Callum Ferguson, Andrew Fekete, Chris Green, Jay Lenton, Usman Khawaja, Arjun Nair, Mitch McClenaghan, Kurtis Patterson, Ben Rohrer, Gurinder Sandhu, James Vince

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