Get all the latest team news and broadcast details ahead of the BBL|15 season opener at Perth Stadium
Perth Scorchers v Sydney Sixers: match preview
Match facts
Who: Perth Scorchers v Sydney Sixers
What: Match 1, KFC BBL|15
Where: Optus Stadium, Perth
When: Sunday, December 14. Bat flip at 3.30pm local (6.30pm AEDT), first ball at 4.15pm local (7.15pm AEDT)
How to watch: Channel Seven, 7plus, Fox Cricket, Kayo Sports
Listen: ABC, SEN Radio. Listen in standard and real-time with no delay to live play via Cricket Radio on the CA Live app. Find out more here
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: Donovan Koch and Gerard Abood (field), Troy Penman (third), Roberto Howard (fourth), Charlie Burke (match referee)
Match squads
Perth Scorchers: Ashton Turner (c), Ashton Agar, Finn Allen, Mahli Beardman, Cooper Connolly. Brody Couch, Joel Curtis, Laurie Evans, Sam Fanning, Aaron Hardie, Nick Hobson, Bryce Jackson, Mitch Marsh, Joel Paris
The Scorchers are near-on full strength heading into Sunday's match on their home turf, headlined by power-hitter Mitch Marsh. New signing Joel Curtis could take the gloves as wicketkeeper with Josh Inglis on Ashes duty with Australia, while former Melboune Star Brody Couch could feature in Scorchers colours for the first time after joining the club in the off-season.
Sydney Sixers: Moises Henriques (c), Babar Azam, Joel Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Ben Manenti, Todd Murphy, Mitch Perry, Josh Philippe (wk), Lachlan Shaw, Harjas Singh, Charlie Stobo
International superstar Babar Azam is all but certain to make his BBL debut tomorrow night having been named in the squad for Sunday's season opener. The Sixers have signed Charlie Stobo and Harjas Singh as Local Replacement Players for Sean Abbott (hamstring) and Jafer Chohan (illness), with both in the frame for a maiden Big Bash appearance.
Club news
Perth Scorchers
Sydney Sixers
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Players to watch
Mitch Marsh (Scorchers): Possibly Australia's most in form white-ball batter since the start of the home international summer in August with centuries in both the ODI and T20 international formats. Marsh also hit a quickfire half-century in a Scorchers intra-squad game this week before retiring himself. This season will be the Australian T20 skipper's first extended stint with the Scorchers since BBL|11.
Babar Azam (Sixers): The biggest overseas recruit of the season will no doubt be eager to make his mark in his Big Bash debut. The former Pakistan captain recently became the most prolific batter of all-time in men's T20 internationals, overtaking Rohit Sharma. Babar has played five matches at Optus Stadium with a top score of 28 not out.
Local knowledge
Rapid stats
- Perth Scorchers batter Mitch Marsh (1904 runs) is 96 away from reaching 2000 BBL runs.
- Scorchers and Sixers captains Ashton Turner and Moises Henriques are both five away from registering 100 sixes in the Big Bash.
- Sydney Sixers bowler Ben Dwarshuis is two away from reaching 150 BBL wickets.
What's on the line?
An opportunity to kick off the new Big Bash season with a win over their fierce rivals. Perth Scorchers (five titles) and Sydney Sixers (three titles) are the league's two most successful clubs, sharing eight titles between in the competition's 14-year history. Both teams will be out to make amends after disappointing finishes last season – the Scorchers failed to qualify for the finals for the first time in five years, while the Sixers lost both of their playoff matches after finishing the regular season in second.
KFC BBL|15 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
STR
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
2
HEA
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
3
HUR
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
4
REN
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
5
STA
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
6
SCO
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
7
SIX
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
8
THU
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points