The Stars host the Thunder in Canberra in their annual home game away from the MCG
Melbourne Stars v Sydney Thunder: match preview
Match facts
Who: Melbourne Stars v Sydney Thunder
What: Match 14, KFC BBL|15
Where: Manuka Oval, Canberra
When: Sunday, December 28. Bat flip at 6.30pm AEDT, first ball at 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: Daryl Brigham and Troy Penman (field), Claire Polosak (third), Drew Crozier (fourth), Kent Hannam (match referee)
Match squads
Melbourne Stars: Hilton Cartwright, Joe Clarke, Tom Curran, Sam Harper, Liam Hatcher, Campbell Kellaway, Glenn Maxwell, Hamish McKenzie, Jono Merlo, Haris Rauf, Tom Rogers, Peter Siddle, Marcus Stoinis (c), Mitchell Swepson
Ins: Tom Rogers. Outs: Tom Whitney (selection).
Tom Rogers makes his return after the Stars opted for a "cautious approach" for the opener following a knee injury sustained against the Strikers. Rogers' inclusion comes at the expense of Tom Whitney, who is yet to feature in the starting XI for the Stars.
Sydney Thunder: Cameron Bancroft, Sam Billings, Chris Green, Matt Gilkes, Ryan Hadley, Shadab Khan, Sam Konstas, Nathan McAndrew, Blake Nikitaras, Aidan O'Connor, Daniel Sams, Tanveer Sangha, Reece Topley, David Warner (c)
Unchanged
The Thunder are sticking with an unchanged line-up as they hunt for consecutive wins in the nation's capital. Shadab Khan will look to improve upon his impressive performance at the venue last week after snaring 4-24 which included the wickets of recent centurions Jack Wildermuth and Matthew Renshaw, while openers Matthew Gilkes and Sam Konstas thrived against the Heat with a 127-run opening partnership.
Club news
Melbourne Stars
Sydney Thunder
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Players to watch
Sam Harper (Melbourne Stars): Hard to ignore after his maiden Big Bash century on Boxing Day, in which he blasted 110 not-out off just 60 balls as the Stars accelerated to victory over the Sixers. After not featuring with the bat as the Stars dismantled the Hurricanes in their season opener, Harper has flourished at the top of the order in his two most recent knocks, belting 55 off 36 against the Strikers before following up with his prolific century at the SCG.
Sam Konstas (Sydney Thunder): Rain, hail or shine, Sam Konstas is always one to keep an eye on. The explosive talent hit his straps in the Thunder’s most recent outing against the Brisbane Heat after a scratchy start to the season. Powering to 63 off 45 balls to form a 127-run opening partnership with Matt Gilkes (76 off 48), Konstas’ latest hit drew praise from skipper David Warner, who credited the “changing (of) their gears” and smart batting in lieu of a boundary-or-bust approach.
Top performers
Most Runs
BBL|15 BKT Golden Bat
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
1
Finn Allen
F Allen
|
466 |
|
2
David Warner
D Warner
|
433 |
|
3
Sam Harper
S Harper
|
381 |
|
4
Mitch Marsh
M Marsh
|
360 |
|
5
Aaron Hardie
A Hardie
|
339 |
|
6
Matthew Renshaw
M Renshaw
|
324 |
|
7
Ben McDermott
B McDermott
|
322 |
|
8
Josh Brown
J Brown
|
311 |
Most Wickets
BBL|15 BKT Golden Arm
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
|
1
Haris Rauf
H Rauf
|
20 |
|
2
Jack Edwards
J Edwards
|
19 |
|
3
Gurinder Sandhu
G Sandhu
|
18 |
|
4
Tom Curran
T Curran
|
16 |
|
5
Peter Siddle
P Siddle
|
16 |
|
6
Ben Dwarshuis
B Dwarshuis
|
16 |
|
7
Xavier Bartlett
X Bartlett
|
15 |
|
8
Lloyd Pope
L Pope
|
15 |
Most sixes scored
BBL|15
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
|
1
Finn Allen
F Allen
|
38 |
|
2
Josh Brown
J Brown
|
20 |
|
3
Mitch Marsh
M Marsh
|
20 |
|
4
David Warner
D Warner
|
20 |
|
5
Nikhil Chaudhary
N Chaudhary
|
17 |
|
6
Matthew Renshaw
M Renshaw
|
17 |
|
7
Ashton Turner
A Turner
|
16 |
|
8
Sam Harper
S Harper
|
15 |
Local knowledge
Rapid stats
- Sydney Thunder are on a five-match winning streak against Melbourne Stars, dating back to December 2022. The Thunder have also won the past three matches between the two sides at Manuka Oval in Canberra.
- Sydney Thunder's Cameron Bancroft (1,998) is two away from reaching 2,000 runs in the Big Bash League.
- If selected, Sydney Thunder's Oliver Davies (49 matches) will make his 50th appearance in the Big Bash League.
KFC BBL|15 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
SCO
|
10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.363 | 0 | 14 |
|
2
SIX
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.605 | 0 | 13 |
|
3
HUR
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.331 | 0 | 13 |
|
4
STA
|
10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.759 | 0 | 12 |
|
5
HEA
|
10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -0.431 | 0 | 10 |
|
6
STR
|
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -0.231 | 0 | 8 |
|
7
REN
|
10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -1.202 | 0 | 6 |
|
8
THU
|
10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | -1.212 | 0 | 4 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points