BBL 2017-18, Match 5, Preview: Sixers take on Perth Scorchers in a rematch of last year's final

The defending champions of Big Bash League Perth Scorchers will start their campaign against last season’s runners-up Sydney Sixers. This is one of the fiercest rivalries in the BBL as these two have 4 titles among themselves. This fixture has been the final in 3 of the 6 seasons of the BBL hence there is a lot of excitement regarding the match.

Sixers would consider themselves unlucky for losing the first match vs their city rivals Sydney Thunder. They looked in control when Thunder required 16 runs off the last over but Thunder did enough to clinch the win on the last ball. Moises Henriques’ men would need to be on the top of their game if they want to get a positive result against the defending champions.

The reigning champions are not looking in a good shape as they are missing a lot of players. Cameron Bancroft, Mitchell Marsh, and Shaun Marsh are on to International duty. The onus will be on captain Adam Voges to anchor the innings for the Scorchers.

Playing Combination

Sydney Sixers

Sydney have a power-packed batting line-up with Jason Roy and Michael Lumb opening the innings. Moises Henriques is capable of holding the innings together and can come up with big hits in the death overs. The likes of Daniel Hughes, Nic Maddinson, and Sam Billings are more than capable of chipping in with cameos down the order.

The likes of Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon are missing as they are fulfilling the national duty. The experienced bowlers like Sean Abbott and Doug Bollinger have to shoulder more responsibility in the absence of the senior pros. Daniel Sams registered the best ever figures for a debutant taking 4/14 vs Thunder and Sixers will look to him and the spinners to stop the Scorchers.

Squad: Jason Roy, Daniel Hughes, Nic Maddinson, Moises Henriques(c), Sam Billings, Johan Botha, Peter Nevill (wk), Steve O’Keefe, Sean Abbott, Daniel Sams, Doug Bollinger, Jackson Bird, Ryan Carters, Harry Conway, Ben Dwarshuis, Brad Haddin, Josh Hazlewood, Michael Lumb, Nathan Lyon, Colin Munro, Jordan Silk, William Somerville, Mitchell Starc, Henry Thornton

Perth Scorchers

Perth won the BBL last year on the back of their strong batting line-up. The likes of Cameron Bancroft, Marsh Brothers are away with international commitments and Michael Klinger has opted out. Perth batting line-up is over-dependent on their captain Adam Voges who needs to play the role of an anchor.

Their star bowlers Jason Behrendorff and Nathan Coulter-Nile would be missing the start of the season due to their back injuries. Mitchell Johnson is the spearhead of their bowling attack and he would have at the top of his game if Scorchers are to go deep into the tournament.

Squad: Adam Voges (C), Cameron Bancroft, Josh Inglis, Shaun Marsh, Sam Whiteman (wk), Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Mitchell Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Johnson, Jason Behrendorff, Cameron Green, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Joel Paris, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, David Willey

Focus will be on

Jason Roy

Jason Roy is one the most feared T20 batsmen in the world. The right-handed batsman has been very consistent for England in both ODIs and T20Is. His game suits the T20 format and Sixers would have high hopes for their opener in this tournament. He has the ability to make full use of the fielding restrictions and Perth bowlers would be mindful of that.

Adam Voges

Perth is missing many big names this season due to various reasons. Their batting is significantly lost strength and seems to be over-dependent on former Australian batsman Adam Voges. The right-handed batsman has the ability to bat through while he would want others to bat around him and push the run rate up.