Sydney Sixers vs Melbourne Stars: Big Bash live scores, blog

The Melbourne Stars will try to drag themselves off the bottom of the BBL ladder when they travel north to face the inexperienced, yet surprising Sydney Sixers. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 7:15pm (AEDT).

This is set to be an intriguing battle between two teams who, while tipped to finish down the bottom of the BBL ladder, have the potential to do something better.

The Sixers have somewhat proven that so far this season, having won one of their two games.

Their opener came as a shock to the system, beating tournament favourites the Perth Scorchers at the Sydney Cricket Ground, where they will be again tonight.

Not leaving Sydney in the first three games of the new season may well be helping the team to gel ahead of some tough road trips in the coming weeks, and it certainly looked that way in the opener.

The men in magenta went out and belted 164 with the stick after being put in by Ashton Turner and the Scorchers, with Jordan Silk and Daniel Hughes batting excellently in the middle order, before Stephen O’Keefe claimed 3 for 19 from his 4 overs to ensure the victory.

And yet, the issues which could so nearly have cost them that game reared their head in the Sydney derby against the Thunder. They got somewhat lucky against the Scorchers that Hughes, Silk and O’Keefe came to the party.

Against the Thunder, there was nothing of the sort and they were crushed in chasing a big score, the end result only made to look respectable thanks to a super effort from Tom Curran.

They are going to need more across the board to compete with the Stars, who are yet to win a game, but haven’t been that far off the pace.

Some would consider them unlucky in their season opener against the Thunder when Duckworth Lewis made the job beyond ridiculous before they just didn’t get enough runs against the Hobart Hurricanes in Game 2 despite some good contributions. Simply put, they started too slowly and that’s on Ben Dunk and Travis Dean to get them going earlier.

If they can do that, the Stars stand a chance of making something out of this season, but even then, their bowling effort across the board has to be better, with only Sandeep Lamichhane making a real impact so far.

Prediction
The Sixers are at home, but the Stars should have the experience in their squad with Peter Handscomb back in the fold to grab their first win of BBL|08.

Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage from 7:15pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to leave a comment below.

Game information

First ball: 7:15pm (AEDT)
Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, New South Wales
TV: Live, Fox Cricket 501, Channel 7
Online: Live, Foxtel app, Foxtel now, Kayo Sports
Betting: Starts $1.85, Sixers $2.10
Overall record: Played 8, Sixers 4, Stars 4
Last meeting: January 23, 2018 – Sixers defeat Stars by 5 wickets at the Sydney Cricket Ground
Last five: Sixers 3, Stars 2
Record at Sydney Cricket Ground: Played 4, Sixers 2, Stars 2
Umpires: Shawn Craig and Simon Lightbody

Sydney Sixers (squad)
Moises Henriques (c), Sean Abbott, Justin Avendano, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Daniel Hughes, Ben Manenti, Steve O’Keefe, Josh Philippe, Jordan Silk

Melbourne Stars (squad)
Glenn Maxwell (c), Michael Beer, Jackson Bird, Scott Boland, Dwayne Bravo, Jackson Coleman, Ben Dunk, Evan Gulbis, Peter Handscomb, Sandeep Lamichhane, Nick Larkin, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa