Aussie T20 sides relish conditions

Australia’s two Champions League T20 cricket representatives believe South African conditions will work in their favour, with the Sydney Sixers pace brigade set to shake up opposing teams.

The 2011-12 Big Bash-winning Sixers and runner-up Perth Scorchers are in separate groups of the ten-team tournament in which the winner will pick up $US2.5 million ($A2.45 million).

Sydney have been drawn alongside IPL sides Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, the 2010 and 2011 Champions League winners respectively, South Africa’s Highveld Lions and English county Yorkshire.

Perth’s group opponents are IPL franchises Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders, South Africa’s Titans and New Zealand’s Auckland Aces.

Australians are scattered across all four IPL teams, with Chennai having Michael Hussey, Doug Bollinger and Ben Hilfenhaus, Kolkata boasting Brett Lee, Delhi fielding David Warner and Mumbai securing Mitchell Johnson.

The star-studded IPL teams have more overseas talent than their rivals, but the Sixers and Scorchers are happy to be playing in South Africa rather than India, where two of the three previous tournaments were held.

“Conditions over here are very similar to Australian conditions,” said Scorchers captain Marcus North, whose team play the Titans in Centurion, in Saturday’s tournament opener.

“There’s no doubt that it will be easier for us to adapt to playing in this format over here than it would be in India, where the conditions are vastly different to what we experience back in Australia.”

The Sixers, who start their campaign against Chennai in Johannesburg on Sunday, also feel the South African pitches will prove more beneficial to them than playing on the traditionally slower Indian decks.

Even without Lee and Bollinger the Sixers are set to unleash a fearsome pace battery including Australian T20 stars Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, fellow young gun Josh Hazlewood and star all-rounder Shane Watson.

“Our big aim is to really get stuck into the Indian batters, I’m not sure all of them like it up around their ears,” Sixers’ star Steve Smith told AAP.

Watson is coming off player-of-the-tournament honours in the World T20 in Sri Lanka, but Sixers’ captain Brad Haddin said it was important not to focus on one man.

“If we want to go far in this competition, we’ve got to play well as a team,” said Haddin, who will also have New Zealander Nathan McCullum and Englishman Michael Lumb to call on.

The Scorchers possess a veteran batting lineup featuring several internationals including, Australians North, Shaun Marsh and Simon Katich, South African Herschelle Gibbs and Englishman Paul Collingwood plus chinaman bowler Brad Hogg.

“I think we’ve got the skills, and the talent and experience in the side that we can go on and do well in the competition,” Collingwood said.

WA haven’t scored a point in their first two Shield games, but North felt the T20 format would help some Scorchers find form because it enabled players to be “free spirited and free-minded.”