The lottery nature of Twenty20 cricket shows that even a team with chronic batting-collapse problems can take out games that look almost certainly lost. That could be the Sydney Sixers’ season review.
Big Bash League final live scores, blog
It says something about the unpredictable nature of the Big Bash League this summer that the final will be played between two teams I had finishing in the bottom four in the pre-tournament ‘best guess’ BBL preview.
Perth Scorchers
In fairness to Perth, I identified them as the team most likely to prove me wrong. Historically, the Scorchers have hardly ever – maybe never – had the strongest squad, but to his great credit, Justin Langer has instilled a healthy winning attitude.
Six successive finals campaigns can’t be wrong, and while they’re still the only BBL side to have won multiple titles, the Scorchers can extend their winning titles to three with another win over the Sixers.
Though no team has won after winning the toss and batting first this season – and the Scorchers tried three times, two of them at the WACA – Perth have batted first in six of their nine BBL06 games, winning three of them. Three times they’ve batted first and won after posting more than 156. And only one of the three batting-first losses came after posting more than 134. Clearly, they don’t mind giving themselves a total to bowl to.
That said, when they have had to bowl first, they’ve won all three games; successfully chasing 148, 134, and 136. And those last two wins came with overs – not balls – to spare. Even when forced to bowl first, their attack is good enough to restrict good sides to low totals. If the WACA wicket is as slow as the other night, this could be crucial.
Jason Behrendorf looms as a possible inclusion, and he’d make an already decent attack even better.
Sydney Sixers
I didn’t rate the Sixers from the start of the competition, and I still don’t really rate them now, despite six wins from nine games.
They have been able to win despite an obviously weaker list than most other sides, and I don’t know whether I’m more annoyed or impressed about that.
In my defence, they’ve won more than a few games this summer they really shouldn’t have, most recently the second semi-final!
Their inability to build partnerships when it counted, and a shocking habit of losing wickets in clumps, has made their ability to win games even more remarkable – never mind winning through to the final.
And yet, they’ve found ways to win. The Sixers have won the toss in seven of their nine games, electing to bowl first six times, and winning four of those. All up, they’ve bowled first in eight games, and won six of them. They were never able to bowl a side out, but took at least eight wickets in five of the games they bowled first.
What they have been able to do is take wickets at the right time, and generally that’s been courtesy of Sean Abbott or Ben Dwarshuis. Taking wickets at key times has allowed them to restrict effectively, meaning they only had to not completely implode and they’d win.
Key wicket
Michael Klinger is the Perth player the Sixers must get early, because he’s been the guy able to bat through an innings and lay the platform for the blokes at the other end to swing with freedom.
If the Sixers can get Klinger, and particularly with no Shaun Marsh in the side now, then it puts pressure on the likes of Sam Whiteman, Adam Voges and even Ashton Turner to play unfamiliar, consolidating roles early in their innings. Ian Bell would become all the more important for Perth if Klinger went early.
For the Sixers, and Brisbane skipper Brendon McCullum nailed this during the second semi, the wicket you want most is Brad Haddin. And ideally, you want him in early.
In eight innings, Haddin has faced just 76 balls this summer; less than ten per innings. Yet he’s scoring at a healthy 134.2 per hundred balls, so if he gets away, so does the scorecard. Get him in early, and he’ll be more prone to playing that loose shot he’s always had in his game. And once Haddin is gone, it’s a long Sixers tail.
Head to head
Overall: played nine – Scorchers six, Sixers three.
At the WACA: played three – Scorchers two, Sixers one (Anyone else think this is surprisingly low?)
Last meeting: Game 7; December 27, SCG – Scorchers 8/130 lost to Sixers 4/132
Finals record
Overall in finals: played three – Scorchers two (BBL03 semi, BBL04 final), Sixers one (BBL01 final)
In finals at the WACA: Sixers won the only meeting between the two side in finals at the WACA; the BBL01 final
Last finals meeting: BBL04 Final; Manuka Oval, Canberra – Sixers 5/147 lost to Scorchers 6/148
Tip: Perth Scorchers
As I stated yesterday on the expert tipping panel – and I use the ‘e word’ very loosely based on my record this summer – Perth will win it, and they’ll win it pretty comfortably; they’ve just been way more consistent than the Sixers this season.
The Scorchers are always tough to beat at home, they have better balance throughout their side, and they’ve certainly got the better bowling attack. The Sixers might have played their final on Wednesday night against the Heat.
Mostly though, I just want to finish the summer’s tipping on a high.
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