Sam Fanning and Finn Allen gave a blazing start but lost their wickets soon. Captain Ashton Turner made unbeaten 66 off 32 balls but failed to take his team past the line
Sydney Sixers defeated Perth Scorchers by 14 runs in match 30 of the Big Bash League (BBL) 2024-25 at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney on Saturday. Veteran Steve Smith marked his return to the franchise cricket with a fabulous hundred. (More Cricket News)
Batting first, the Sixers made 220/3 thanks to the 'opener' Steve Smith who made 121 not out off 64 balls. His mammoth knock included 10 fours and seven sixes. Captain Moises Henriques and Ben Dwarshuis also played crucial knocks in the end.
In response, Sam Fanning and Finn Allen gave a blazing start but lost their wickets soon. Captain Ashton Turner made unbeaten 66 off 32 balls but failed to take his team past the line.
Perth Scorchers won the toss and opted to field first against Sydney Sixers in Sydney.
Perth Scorchers: Sam Fanning, Finn Allen(w), Aaron Hardie, Cooper Connolly, Ashton Turner(c), Nick Hobson, Ashton Agar, Matthew Spoors, Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff
Sydney Sixers: Josh Philippe(w), Steven Smith, Kurtis Patterson, Moises Henriques(c), Jordan Silk, Jack Edwards, Joel Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Hayden Kerr, Sean Abbott, Todd Murphy
Steve Smith is returning to the BBL after the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy and will play his first match of the season for Sydney Sixers. Moises Henriques is leading the side.
Ashton Turner, Perth Scorchers Captain
We have decided to bowl first. It's nice to win the toss for a change since we haven't done so in a while. The pitch looks good. We recognize that we haven't been playing at the level we aspire to, but we believe our best cricket is still ahead of us. This should be a great game, and we are grateful for the favourable weather conditions. We have made a couple of changes: Sam Fanning and Matthew Spoors are coming into the team. Every match holds more significance for us, and we know we need to perform better than we have been. I'm confident in our group.
Moises Henriques, Sydney Sixers Captain
We have won the last couple of tosses and chosen to bowl, but unfortunately, we lost those matches. This time, I was leaning towards batting, not just because of the toss, but also due to the pitch conditions. The good news is that it won't rain, so we should get a full game of cricket. Steve Smith is coming in for James Vince, which is great for the Sydney crowd tonight. Joel Davies replaces Akeal. Regarding Smith, it's fantastic to have him; it's not just about his batting skill, but also his positive influence on the team. He truly embodies the spirit of a Sixer.
Big Bash League 2024-25 is available on the Star Sports Network in India. The BBL 14 matches are live-streamed on the Disney+ Hotstar app.