Get all the latest team news and broadcast details for a near sell-out Sydney Smash at Engie Stadium
Sydney Thunder v Sydney Sixers: match preview
Match facts
Who: Sydney Thunder v Sydney Sixers
What: Match 7, KFC BBL|15
Where: Engie Stadium, Sydney
When: Saturday, December 20. Bat flip at 6.30pm AEDT, first ball at 7.15pm AEDT
How to watch: 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 selling fast with fewer than 1,000 remaining. Get the 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 Sam Nogajski (field), Mike Graham-Smith (third), Mitchell Claydon (fourth), Janine Stainer (match referee)
Match squads
Sydney Thunder: Tom Andrews, Cameron Bancroft, Sam Billings, Chris Green, Matt Gilkes, Ryan Hadley, Shadab Khan, Sam Konstas, Nathan McAndrew, Blake Nikitaras, Daniel Sams, Tanveer Sangha, Reece Topley, David Warner (c)
Ins: Tom Andrews, David Warner. Outs: Charlie Anderson (omitted), Ollie Davies (omitted)
A timely return for skipper David Warner in what already shapes as one of this season's most super-charged fixtures headlines the Thunder's inclusions against their cross-town rivals. Warner, reclaiming captaincy duties from stand-in Chris Green after missing the club's season opener with a lower back injury, will be flanked by spinner Tom Andrews in the squad, who impressed last season with 11 wickets in the Thunder's charge towards finals. Charlie Anderson and Ollie Davies make way for the incoming pair, while Sam Konstas has been given the green light after an injury concern to his elbow sustained against the Hurricanes.
Sydney Sixers: Babar Azam, Ben Dwarshuis, Jafer Chohan, Joel Davies, Daniel Hughes, Jack Edwards, Moises Henriques (c), Hayden Kerr, Mitch Perry, Todd Murphy, Josh Philippe, Kane Richardson, Lachlan Shaw, Jordan Silk
Ins: Kane Richardson, Lachlan Shaw. Outs: Riley Kingsell (omitted), Charlie Stobo (omitted)
Big Bash stalwart Kane Richardson is in line to make his Sixers debut after arriving in magenta from the Melbourne Renegades, and before that, Adelaide Strikers. The experienced seamer will be joined by Hayden Kerr who has been named in the squad for the first time this season, while local replacement players Riley Kingsell and Charlie Stobo have been omitted.
Club news
Sydney Thunder
Sydney Sixers
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Players to watch
Sam Billings (Thunder): Failed to fire in the Thunder's season opening loss to Hobart when he was undone by a peach from compatriot Chris Jordan on three. Remains a crucial cog in the team's middle order and is coming off a player-of-the-match 42 not out in his last match against the Sixers in last season's Challenger win.
An absolute beauty from Chris Jordan demolishes the middle stump! 💥 #GoldenMoment pic.twitter.com/OOtiiwbzmj
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) December 16, 2025
Josh Philippe (Sixers): A new role for the Sixers wicketkeeper-batter at No.3 in BBL|15 and it's been a compelling start with scores of 46 (28 balls) and 28 (18) in their first two games. Captain Moises Henriques highlighted Philippe's effectiveness against spin as the reason for the shift, which will be put to the test against the Thunder at the notoriously spin-friendly Engie Stadium.
Top performers
Most Runs
BBL|15 BKT Golden Bat
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
1
Ben McDermott
B McDermott
|
107 |
|
2
Tim Seifert
T Seifert
|
102 |
|
3
Jack Edwards
J Edwards
|
78 |
|
4
Josh Philippe
J Philippe
|
74 |
|
5
Marcus Stoinis
M Stoinis
|
62 |
|
6
Cameron Bancroft
C Bancroft
|
61 |
|
7
Cooper Connolly
C Connolly
|
59 |
|
8
Oliver Peake
O Peake
|
59 |
Most Wickets
BBL|15 BKT Golden Arm
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
|
1
Will Sutherland
W Sutherland
|
3 |
|
2
Jack Wildermuth
J Wildermuth
|
3 |
|
3
Peter Siddle
P Siddle
|
3 |
|
4
Luke Wood
L Wood
|
3 |
|
5
Ben Dwarshuis
B Dwarshuis
|
3 |
|
6
Billy Stanlake
B Stanlake
|
3 |
|
7
Jack Edwards
J Edwards
|
3 |
|
8
Shadab Khan
S Khan
|
2 |
Most sixes scored
BBL|15
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
|
1
Tim Seifert
T Seifert
|
6 |
|
2
Cooper Connolly
C Connolly
|
5 |
|
3
Ben McDermott
B McDermott
|
5 |
|
4
Colin Munro
C Munro
|
5 |
|
5
Nikhil Chaudhary
N Chaudhary
|
3 |
|
6
Jack Edwards
J Edwards
|
3 |
|
7
Oliver Peake
O Peake
|
3 |
|
8
Jimmy Peirson
J Peirson
|
3 |
Local knowledge
Rapid stats
- Sydney Thunder won by four wickets in their last BBL game against the Sydney Sixers, snapping a six-game losing streak against their crosstown rivals in the process. They’ll be looking to win back-to-back games against the Sixers in the competition for the first time since December 2017.
- Sydney Thunder are on a three-game winning streak at Engie Stadium in the BBL after losing five in a row at the venue prior, while the Sydney Sixers come into this game on a four-game losing streak overall in the competition.
- Sydney Sixers (29.6 per cent) and Sydney Thunder (29.2 per cent) have scored more of their runs from singles than any other teams in the BBL in 2025, while only Melbourne Renegades (131.6) have a lower batting strike rate than the Sixers (132.1) and Thunder (132.9) in that time.
- Cameron Bancroft (Sydney Thunder) has scored either 50-plus runs (twice) or less than seven runs (five times) in each of his last seven BBL innings against the Sydney Sixers, including 70 not out in his last innings against them.
- Daniel Hughes (Sydney Sixers) has scored 497 runs in BBL games between the Sixers and Thunder, the second-most of any player, and has a batting average of 45.2 in the Sydney Smash, which is the highest of any batter (minimum seven innings). He's scored 50-plus runs in each of his last two innings against the Thunder.
What's on the line?
Both Sydney sides are winless to start the season, and the Sixers have lost both their matches so far. Early wins are crucial in a condensed tournament and both teams will be desperate to get on the board so they don't fall too far behind.
Plus, there's Sydney bragging rights on the line with the Sixers out to get one back over their crosstown rivals following their loss in last season's Challenger final.
KFC BBL|15 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
STA
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.037 | 0 | 2 |
|
2
SCO
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.235 | 0 | 2 |
|
3
REN
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.7 | 0 | 2 |
|
4
STR
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.326 | 0 | 2 |
|
5
HUR
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -0.906 | 0 | 2 |
|
6
THU
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -0.126 | 0 | 0 |
|
7
SIX
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -0.616 | 0 | 0 |
|
8
HEA
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -0.7 | 0 | 0 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points