Steve Smith faces off against David Warner in a blockbuster KFC BBL|13 Sydney Smash at an almost sold-out SCG
All you need to know: Sydney Sixers v Sydney Thunder
Match facts
Who: Sydney Sixers v Sydney Thunder
What: Match 34, BBL|13
Where: SCG, Sydney
When: Friday, January 12. Bat flip at 6.30pm AEDT, first ball at 7.15pm AEDT)
How to watch: Channel Seven, Fox Cricket, Kayo Sports
Buy tickets: Tickets are on sale here
Live scores: Match Centre
Highlights, news and reactions after the match: cricket.com.au, the CA Live and Big Bash apps
Officials: Shawn Craig (field), Simon Lightbody (field), Paul Wilson (third), Roberto Howard (fourth), Steve Davis (match referee)
Match squads
Sixers: Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird, Joel Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Ryan Hadley, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Todd Murphy, Stephen O’Keefe, Kurtis Patterson, Mitch Perry, Josh Philippe, Jordan Silk, Steve Smith, James Vince
Thunder: Cameron Bancroft, Ollie Davies, Liam Doddrell, Matthew Gilkes, Toby Gray, Chris Green (c), Alex Hales, Liam Hatcher, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Nathan McAndrew, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, William Salzmann, Gurinder Sandhu, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, David Warner
Form guide
Sixers: WLDDL (most recent first)
After a stop-start past few weeks – mostly due to rain following them down the east coast – the Sixers got back on the winners list against the Stars at the MCG. They were in a strong position in one of those washouts in the previous Sydney Smash at Showground Stadium until rain stopped them in their tracks with one over left to constitute a match. A win here would put the Sixers into second place, meaning they'd face off against the Scorchers in their final match of the regular season with the winner to claim the double chance.
Thunder: LLDLW
It's been a season to forget for the Thunder who have a less than one per cent chance of playing finals this season after winning just one of their seven games. Captain Chris Green says they haven't "played their best cricket for seven games" and they'll be out to restore some pride in their remaining three games of BBL|13. "We've had five close losses where if we polish up five per cent, we're probably sitting in a different position," he said.
KFC BBL|13 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
HEA
|
10 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0.972 | 0 | 16 |
|
2
SIX
|
10 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.339 | 0 | 14 |
|
3
SCO
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.725 | 0 | 13 |
|
4
STR
|
10 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0.331 | 0 | 11 |
|
5
HUR
|
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -0.268 | 0 | 8 |
|
6
STA
|
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -1.051 | 0 | 8 |
|
7
REN
|
10 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2 | -0.288 | 0 | 6 |
|
8
THU
|
10 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2 | -0.652 | 0 | 4 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points
Players to watch
It doesn't get any bigger than Steve Smith v David Warner. The retired Test opener and his replacement will go head-to-head at the top of the order for their respective Big Bash teams with more than 40,000 fans expected to flock to the SCG on Friday to witness the box office battle.
The Sixers will be hoping for a repeat of Smith's heroics from the corresponding fixture last season when he smashed 125 not out from 66 balls in one of the best knocks the competition has seen. Smith, who is also pushing to open the batting for Australia in this year's T20 World Cup, has averaged 81.4 striking at 169.6 in the BBL since going to the top of the order when he returned for the Sixers last season.
The Thunder will be hoping Warner can fire on his return to the Big Bash this summer after managing a top score of only 36no in six innings in BBL|12. Warner plans to fly in a helicopter direct from his brother's wedding to play in the Sydney Smash, subject to weather conditions.
Sixers import Tom Curran has been ruled out of the rest of the season with a knee injury, capping a forgettable BBL campaign for the English allrounder after he was suspended for four matches earlier in the tournament for intimidating an umpire. Local replacement player Ryan Hadley returns to the Sixers squad, while Sam Konstas has departed Thunder camp to join Australia's under-19 World Cup squad in South Africa.
Head-to-head
Overall: Sixers (16 wins), Thunder (7 wins), no result (1)
At the SCG: Sixers (8 wins), Thunder (2 wins)
Most runs: Daniel Hughes (497), Moises Henriques (492), Nic Maddinson (339), Jordan Silk (263), Alex Hales (259)
Most wickets: Sean Abbott (26), Daniel Sams (17), Ben Dwarshuis (17), Steve O'Keefe (15), Fawad Ahmed (13)
The venue
Rapid stats
- Sydney Sixers have won their last four games in a row against the Sydney Thunder in the BBL, including a 125-run win when they last met on January 21, 2023. The Sixers have also won their last five games in a row against the Thunder at the SCG.
- Sydney Thunder have lost six of their last seven games in the BBL, including their last three in a row. The last time they lost more than three successive games in the competition was a four-game stretch from December 2016 to January 2017.
- No team has dropped fewer catches in the 2023-24 BBL season than the Sydney Thunder (2). In fact, the Thunder's 93 per cent catch success rate this season is their second highest in a single campaign in the history of the competition.
- Sydney Sixers duo Daniel Hughes (497) and Moises Henriques (492) are three and eight runs shy respectively of becoming the first players to score 500 runs in BBL games between the Sixers and Sydney Thunder. Hughes has scored half-centuries runs in his last two innings against the Thunder, while Henriques averages 49.20 across his BBL career against the Thunder, his best record against any of his Big Bash opponents.
- David Warner (Sydney Thunder) has logged scores of 50 and 16 against the Sydney Sixers in the BBL and has been caught out by Jordan Silk in both of those innings.
What's on the line?
It's a huge match for the Sixers who will jump the Scorchers into second with a win, which would put them in the box seat to finish in the top two and claim a double chance in the BBL|13 finals. They'd still have to beat the Scorchers in their final match of the season for that to happen where they'll need to overcome the toughest away trip in the Big Bash. A win for the Thunder would mathematically keep their slim finals hopes alive, with a loss putting a line through their season.
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