Despite all the troubles and tribulations, the Big Bash League has made it through to the final with the concluding match of the campaign taking place on Friday when the Perth Scorchers host the Sydney Sixers at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne.
These two sides competed the final last year when the Sydney Sixers came out on top and they finished first and second in the regular season this term. They now meet for the fourth time this season in the biggest match of the lot.
Perth Scorchers
You have to give it to the Perth Scorchers. Every season they go into a Big Bash League campaign with plenty of historical expectation on their shoulders after being one of the best teams in the league since its inception. That is hard enough to deal with but they have done it on the road for all but one game this season and they have still breezed into the final. If they were to win this final then it might be their best ever achievement.
They have dominated this season because of the fearsome nature of their batting. Their bowlers haven’t been quite the stingy unit we have seen them be in the past, although relentless flights haven’t helped them in that regard. They certainly haven’t been terrible though either. Perth are full of experience in the big matches and you sense they will have built up their preparation throughout the week to ensure they peak for this match.
Sydney Sixers
The Sydney Sixers are looking to win this title for a third straight year but based on what we’ve seen recently this will be their toughest test yet. They have had to play the extra match to get to this final having lost the qualifier to the Perth Scorchers earlier in the week. To the credit of the Sixers they won the challenger to make it through to this final and quite how they did it I’m still not sure two days after the event.
The Sixers have been less consistent this term than they have last with their batters and bowlers struggling at different times of the season. The good thing is that one unit has always helped out the other and has gotten them through to this final. If the experienced players stand up and be counted in this final then the Sixers have a chance here. The best thing they have going for them is that they seem to never know when they are beaten.
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Team News
The Perth Scorchers had a fitness doubt over Mitchell Marsh earlier in the week but he has been named in the squad for this match. Jhye Richardson might have a point to prove having been left out of the squad to tour Pakistan.
If you are fit then you’ll probably be in the Sixers squad for this match given all the injuries they have heading into this final. They will be without Jack and Mickey Edwards and now Josh Philippe because of Covid while Jordan Silk, Steve O’Keefe and Moises Henriques picked up injuries in the challenger. Henriques is expected to play but the other two are doubts.
Betting
The Perth Scorchers are emphatic favourites in light of all the Sydney Sixers personnel woes heading into this final. My gut feeling is that the Sixers will be stronger than people expect and will make a game of this but until we know the team line up for sure we can’t really bet on that. That means I’ll be heading to the side market for a bet on this final and that will come in the form of a player performance where I like the line of Hayden Kerr.
I actually like this line for the bowling potential of Kerr. In three matches against the Perth Scorchers this season he has taken seven wickets including a four wicket haul and another two in the qualifier at the weekend. He is bowling very well and seems to have a hold on the Perth batters. What makes me like his performance more is that he is likely to open the batting in this match and if his display doing that in the last game is anything to go by then he is going to contribute nicely with the bat too. Even if he is down the order he still scored 22 in the qualifier so when you put the bowling potential together with the batting one I think he has every chance of covering 41.5pts in this final.
Tips
Back H.Kerr’s Performance – Over 41.5pts for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
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