- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The Sydney Sixers will be desperate to avoid a fourth straight loss when they travel to Perth to take on the Scorchers on New Years Day. Here is my full preview, plus the Prophet’s pick.
Perth Scorchers vs Sydney Sixers at the WACA
Head to head: Perth Scorchers 8, Sydney Sixers 3
Last five: Perth Scorchers 4, Sydney Sixers 1Sydney Sixers 13-man squad
Johan Botha (c), Nic Maddinson, Daniel Hughes, Jason Roy, Sam Billings, Jordan Silk, Johan Botha, Sean Abbott, Stephen O’Keefe, Peter Nevill, Harry Conway, Doug Bollinger, Daniel Sams, Ben Dwarshuis.Perth Scorchers 13-man squad
Adam Voges (c), Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Hilton Cartwright, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Johnson, Michael Klinger, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Joel Paris, Jhye Richardson, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, David Willey.
The Sydney Sixers’ season is on the line as they face an acid test on New Year’s Day at the Furnace against the undefeated Perth Scorchers. The Sixers have been the big disappointments of BBL07 so far, winless in all three games, and now they will have to do without their captain, Moises Henriques, for an indefinite period.
The Scorchers came into this season in somewhat of chaos, with only nine of their original 18-player squad available, yet continue to defy the odds, winning their opening three games with some outstanding bowling displays.
(Jason McCawley – CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images)
Big batting battle: Michael Klinger vs Nic Maddinson
The Scorchers would have been relieved to welcome Klinger back to their line-up against the Renegades, and he made an immediate impact, scoring 37.
The Scorchers desperately needed some experience and quality at the top of the order, as they have largely been winning games off the back of outstanding bowling displays with their top order batting struggling to make an impact with so many big-name players missing.
Nic Maddinson looked good in the opening two games for his pair of 31s; however, he was out for a duck with a nothing shot against the Strikers on Thursday night. With the English pair of Roy and Billings misfiring and in the absence of Moises Henriques, Maddinson really needs to fire here.
Big bowling battle: Mitchell Johnson vs Ben Dwarshuis
This battle seems like a bit of a mismatch on paper, but it’s a big occasion for Dwarshuis, who made a decent return to the side on Thursday night coming in for Doug Bollinger. Dwarshuis was given the responsibility of bowling in the powerplay as well as the death overs and claimed 2/41 from his four overs.
Mitchell Johnson showed he remains the premier T20 seamer in the competition with a brilliant spell against the Renegades, claiming 3/13 from his four overs. Johnson ripped the heart out of the Renegades batting order with the key wickets of Aaron Finch and Cameron White, allowing the Scorchers to really control the game from there.
Ground dynamic: The WACA
I’m expecting this track to have plenty of life in it if new year wickets in Perth over time are anything to go by. The Scorchers’ strength is their pace attack, so I’m expecting them to serve up a wicket with a bit of grass and pace for the boys from the east in the Sixers. This can be counterbalanced by the lightning fast outfield to an extent, so you would expect a score of around 165 to 170 to be the target for the side batting first.
The Prophet’s pick (6-6): Perth Scorchers
“The Sixers are dead to me”
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.