The penultimate game of the Big Bash League season takes place on Friday when the third Sydney derby of the season comes along in what is the Challenger to determine whether the Sydney Sixers or the Sydney Thunder will face Hobart Hurricanes in the final.
The winner of this one will be off to Hobart to compete for the title on Monday while the loser at the Sydney Cricket Ground will fall a step short of making the final. Add in the derby element of this one and we’re in for a cracking match.
Sydney Sixers
I always think that the pressure in this match is on the team who have already blown one chance to make the final. That is the Sydney Sixers. The one thing that they can take from that loss in the Qualifier was that they were never really ever in the run chase so it isn’t like it was a last ball defeat or anything like that. They have had a couple of days to dress themselves down and work out where they went wrong and get ready to go again which is a positive.
The Sixers batting is a concern to me. It was always going to be at this stage of the season in fairness. James Vince was the mainstay in the first half of the campaign and then Steve Smith replaced him but neither are around now and we saw at the top of the innings against Hobart that it is creating an issue. There is also a shortfall to the bowling unit in the key overs as well so the Sixers really need their established players to stand up here.
Sydney Thunder
The Sydney Thunder have done really well to make it to this stage of the competition. From where they were at the end of the previous team with one win in the entire campaign to being a win away from a spot in the final is decent enough but when you consider the impact that the fielding crash between Cameron Bancroft and Daniel Sams had on the balance of their side halfway through the season, to be in this position is every more impressive.
The Thunder were outsiders to beat the Melbourne Stars and would’ve been a big price at the halfway mark but the hallmark of this side is they battle hard and if one of their standout players can do something decent it gives them a leg up to believe they can win matches. They haven’t beaten the Sydney Sixers this season but the second game was washed out after five overs so we can’t really read too much into that. The Thunder do carry winning momentum into this contest though.
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Key Players
If the Sydney Sixers are going to win this match then the runs that Jordan Silk can score in the middle of the batting order could be crucial. He gave them a sniff against the Hurricanes but couldn’t push on and get them over the line. He will be looking to so that here.
Dave Warner has carried the Sydney Thunder batting for much of the season and they will be hoping that their captain has another couple of big innings in him and if he has it could be him who is lifting the trophy on Monday night.
Betting
I’m on the Sydney Thunder at just under 4/1 here having backed them each way before a ball was bowled this season but if you are not on them I certainly wouldn’t put you off getting involved in them. The Sydney Sixers are just seeing a hole or two too many in their side for my liking and one or two of the experienced players aren’t really pulling their weight. I don’t need to get involved in the match betting though with that outright play doing that for me.
The run line for this one is 317.5 and that might be one to attack the over. The Sydney Cricket Ground has been high scoring this season. Three matches have been completed here this term and they have totalled 341, 392 and 426 runs and with some key bowlers missing for both sides there is nothing to suggest that the bat won’t have the better of the ball here. Whether there is a key batter or two too many missing remains to be seen but even without that gun batter Sydney Sixers just scored 161/5 against a very good Hobart Hurricanes attack. The Thunder bat deep so the run line might be a little low here.
Tips
Back Over 317.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Betway
