The Sydney Sixers become the penultimate side to get their Big Bash League season underway when they play host to the Perth Scorchers in the opening half of the first double header of the campaign on Saturday.
Both these sides know how to go all the way in this competition and both descend on the Sydney Cricket Ground looking for their first victory of the season, and get them on their way to chasing down that title once again.
Sydney Sixers
All eyes will be on the Sixers’ batsmen to see if they can lay a platform in terms of performance that suggests they will be able to put together winning scores over the course of season. It might be harsh to judge them in that regard in this match because they are up against one of the best bowling attacks in Big Bash history but if they can deliver here the confidence they should get could be game changing.
The one thing that Sydney have to do throughout the entire season is make sure they deliver their best performances with the ball. Looking at their squad heading into the tournament their bowling looks so much better than their batting so if their bowlers can ease the pressure and the burden on the batters it should help them deliver positive results.
Perth Scorchers
I guess the same sentiments can be extended to the Perth Scorchers too. I think they are a better batting unit than the Sydney Sixers but there is no doubt that their strength lies in their bowling attack where they are very accomplished. Although their batsmen failed miserably in Melbourne on Thursday, their bowlers almost got them out of trouble which is generally how they work.
It is easy to say that their bowlers take the pressure away from their batsmen but over the last season and the first game of this one, those batters have still let themselves down a little too much for my liking. The Scorchers could really do with a big batting display but in truth there is a large plodding look about this team with the willow so it is vital the top order do not get dismissed cheaply.
Team News
Sydney Sixers will be without Nathan Lyon for their tournament bow but both overseas players Joe Denly and Tom Curran have been down under for a while and should be acclimatised. Daniel Hughes is all set to open with Denly.
The Scorchers remain without Shaun Marsh as he is still with Australia but after the first match we could see some changes. Cameron Bancroft is still missing through his suspension so it won’t be him bailing their batsmen out.
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Betting
I expected a high scoring match on Friday and until the rain came we were well on the way to getting one but I do not expect likewise here. I don’t see Sydney Sixers being a high scoring team very often in this competition and we’ve already seen the Perth Scorchers struggle with the bat so I think we should lower expectation in terms of the amount of runs we will see here.
The runs line in this match is 315.5 which looks on the high side to me. I think 155 is around the high end of the threshold for both these teams anyway but against the quality of bowling attack on show here we should probably lessen that number a little bit. I think the under is a good thing here.
Tips
WON – Back Under 315.5 runs for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Karamba
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