The first place in the Big Bash League final will be secured on Saturday when the Perth Scorchers and the Sydney Sixers meet in the Qualifier where the equation in Melbourne is a simple one – win and get ready for the final on Friday.
That doesn’t mean the game is up for the loser of this one. These two finished in the top two which means they get a second chance to make the final should they need it, but it goes without saying they would rather get the job done at the right time of asking.
Perth Scorchers
The Perth Scorchers were pretty rampant winners of the regular season. They topped the table by five points, losing only three of their 14 matches but they will be all too aware that none of that counts for anything now. The only thing that matters from here on in is what happens over the next week and so they will be eager to pick up their level to the best they can be and look to give themselves the maximum recovery time for the final.
Perth have been pretty invincible this season. Their batting has been brutal but in the last couple of matches there has just been one or two signs of their bowling teetering on the edge of cracking and that might be a concern for Adam Voges and their coaching staff. There are a lot of experienced players in this Scorchers squad though and a number of them have played in Big Bash finals so they will know how to perform on the big occasion.
Sydney Sixers
The Sydney Sixers ended up having to win their final match of the regular season to secure a top two finish but to their credit they did exactly that and they have a little bit of confidence heading into this one. This is a repeat of the final from last season so the Sixers know that they have it in them to beat the Scorchers on the big occasion and might well be looking at laying a marker down here because it wouldn’t surprise anyone of these two meet again in the final on Friday.
I think the Sixers have the bowlers to win this competition regardless of who they play but there are still one or two concerns over their top order with the bat. If they get off to a flier then it is hard to see the men in pink getting hauled back but if they lose a couple of wickets early they can sometimes get caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. They have match winners everywhere you look though which is never a bad thing.
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Team News
The Perth Scorchers look to be close to full strength for this match with Mitch Marsh and Josh Inglis back from warming the Australia bench. Jhye Richardson is available for the first time since the Test series too while Cameron Bancroft and Colin Munro are back from Covid and Laurie Evans is over his toe problem.
The Sydney Sixers have made their feelings quite clear about the fact that Steve Smith is unable to play for them in this match. They do have Nathan Lyon in the squad once again though and could well name an unchanged side from the win over Brisbane on Wednesday.
Betting
With both sides at full strength for this match there is going to be a lot of power on show in the batting department and we’ve seen throughout the season at Marvel Stadium that the pitch has been good for batting and the boundaries, especially square of the wicket, have been perfectly attainable so I’m expecting a bunch of sixes once again here. The line for this qualifier is 10.5 which looks very achievable.
The Perth Scorchers have played three matches at Marvel Stadium this season and all three of them have seen this line covered. The Sydney Sixers haven’t played on this ground this term but they have the batters to do some damage to the boundary, especially given how relatively short they are square of the wicket. There isn’t that do or die nature to this match so the batters have a bit of freedom to express themselves and I think they can do that in style.
Tips
Back Over 10.5 sixes for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with BetVictor
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