BBL 7, Match 36, Preview: Bottom placed Sydney Sixers and Melbourne Stars battle for pride

The Match 36 of the Big Bash League (BBL) 7 will be a bottom of the tale clash where the 7th placed Sydney Sixers will go head to head with the 8th placed Melbourne Stars at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Both the teams are virtually out of the tournament now and this is more a battle of pride than anything else.

The Sydney Sixers have a 50% record playing at home this season as they have won 2 out of the 4 games that they have played at the Sydney Cricket Ground. As far as the Stars are concerned, this has been a horrible season for them all around. Neither have they played well at home nor away, but the solitary win that they have secured so far has come away at the Docklands Stadium. So that’s something they can take heart from as they enter this away fixture.

Team Combination

Sydney Sixers

The Sixers lost the first 6 games of their campaign and that virtually eliminated them from the tournament, but of late they have had some good results and that’s because they have found the right combination. They are likely to go with the same XI they played against Brisbane Heat and the onus once again will be on the top order to fire. While the Sixers have power down the order too, they rely heavily on their top 3 players to lay the platform and the likes of Joe Denly, Daniel Hughes and Nic Maddinson have done that perfectly in the recent few games.

Also, the inclusion of Nathan Lyon has added variety and experience to their bowling and the captain Johan Botha will look up to the veteran off spinner to give the team the control in the middle overs tomorrow.

Predicted XI: Johan Botha (C), Moises Henriques, Joe Denly, Nic Maddinson, Peter Nevill, Nathan Lyon, Carlos Brathwaite, Sean Abbott, Daniel Hughes, Jordan Silk, Ben Dwarshuis

Melbourne Stars

Luke Wright has gone back home and will not be available for the last two games of their campaign. However, since Wright has been struggling with form, it’s not quite a blow for the Stars. One change that the Stars may make tomorrow is to slot in Rob Quiney at the top of the order in place of the out of form Ben Dunk.

Also because the SCG pitch traditionally offers some help to the spin bowlers, it’s very much possible that the Stars opt to go with two spinners and in that scenario, the left-arm spinner Michael Beer might get a go. The rest of the XI should remain the same with Kevin Pietersen featuring as the lone overseas player.

Predicted XI: Kevin Pietersen, John Hastings (C), Jackson Coleman, Glenn Maxwell, James Faulkner, Rob Quiney, Evan Gulbis, Peter Handscomb, Michael Beer, Seb Gotch, Liam Bowe

Head to Head Record

Total Matches Played – 7 | Melbourne Stars won – 3 | Sydney Sixers won – 3 | Tie- 1 (Won by Stars in Super Over)

Focus will be on-

Carlos Brathwaite (Sydney Sixers)

The West Indies T20 captain hasn’t had any opportunity to showcase his batting talent as the Sixers top order has been getting the job done of late, but he has definitely been able to make a mark with the ball. Brathwaite is a big strapping lad who might not be that quick, but uses his height well and extract something out of the wicket with his strong shoulders. Also he is as good an option with the bat at no. 6 or 7 as a captain can hope to have.

Liam Bowe (Melbourne Stars)

Liam Bowe has impressed one and all with his talent and more than that with his temperament. The chinaman bowler has the ability to spin the ball both ways and he is never afraid of giving the ball a fair amount of air and inviting the batsman to go over the top. He has got quite a mature head over his shoulders despite a young age and everyone will be keenly watching how he goes tomorrow. He is someone who can be a bright prospect for the Australian national team in the future.

Broadcast Details

TV – SonyESPN

Online – SonyLIV

Match Timings

The game starts at 2:10 PM, IST