The second part of the double header in the Big Bash League on Sunday sees the top two teams meeting at the Sydney Cricket Ground when the Sydney Sixers take on the Perth Scorchers in what could once again be the final next month.
It was the final last season and given the position the two are in going into this match they look like they will meet in the postseason at least once if not twice so this is a chance for markers to be laid down.
Sydney Sixers
Despite a poor start to the season, the Sydney Sixers head into this match in second place in the table with six wins and a washout from their 10 matches. They will move three points clear of third place with a win here and be in great spot to secure at least second place if not top spot. They know that will give them a second shot at the final should they need it so the Sixers should be bang up for this one with that in mind.
Sydney will be buoyed by their win in the Sydney derby last week and they have had seven days since them without a game to recharge the batteries. That is important because they were chopping and changing their bowling attack regularly in order to avoid injuries. There is no reason for them not to be at full strength with the ball in this match and as has been strongly publicised they get Steve Smith and Nathan Lyon back for this one too.
Perth Scorchers
The Perth Scorchers are coming to the boil nicely and they have scooted clear of the field. If they win this match they will be five points clear at the top and not just on track to give themselves two chances to make the final but favourites to host both the first playoff game and subsequently the final should they win that finals opener. Perth play their own conditions very well so if the path to the trophy goes through Perth the Scorchers will be tough to beat.
Perth have won their last three matches in pretty ruthless fashion. They have chased in all three games and having got to 17 overs in any of those chases. Their bowling is standing up to the plate despite the injuries that they have in that department and then their batting has just caught fire in the last three matches. If the runs continue to flow it doesn’t seem to matter which bowlers are picked the Scorchers deliver.
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Key Players
All eyes are going to be on Steve Smith for this match. He is playing in the Big Bash League for the first time in a number of years and there will be an expectation for him to deliver something special with the bat.
Cameron Bancroft couldn’t get into the Perth Scorchers team at the beginning of the season but he is in there now and he is making full use of his opportunity. If he can get the Scorchers off to a good start the bigger hitters will be able to express themselves.
Betting
The three matches in this tournament at the Sydney Cricket Ground have all been low scoring and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is another one of them. There was a lot of rain around in Sydney while the Test match was on and although there has been a few days of better weather since then you just wonder what state the square is in here. There has been a lot of cricket in Sydney with the T20 World Cup here before the summer really got going so that won’t help.
Both these teams have very good bowling attacks and while Steve Smith is around, he is effectively only replacing James Vince who was the leading scorer for the Sixers when he departed. This isn’t a Sydney side who have batted well this season but they will have their strongest bowling unit out in this match. The run line for this one is 313.5 and that feels a little high when the highest score in six innings on this ground so far this season is just 151/3.
Tips
Back Under 313.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
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