The 6th edition of KFC Big Bash League is all set to start on Tuesday as defending champions Sydney Thunders take on their city rivals Sydney Sixers in the opening match of the tournament at the Spotless stadium in Sydney.
The first four seasons were not one to remember for Sydney Thunders as they won only five out of possible 30 matches, finishing bottom of the table on three occasions and second last in the fourth campaign. The fifth campaign of the Big Bash League proved to be much better for them as they went on to win the tournament under the captaincy of Shane Watson.
Two key players from last season's title-winning season that the Sydney Thunders will miss are Mike Hussey and Jacques Kallis. Sydney Thunders will also be without their captain Shane Watson for the first few matches due to injury, and Usman Khawaja. The left-handed batsman was a star performer for the Thunder's last season and he will miss the opener while on Australian Test duty. They have also signed England limited over's captain Eoin Morgan and West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell to bolster their squad ahead of the new season.
Sydney Sixers had the upper hand over Sydney Thunders in their last seven encounters, except for last year where the Thunders defeated the Sixers in both their matches. After winning the inaugural edition of the Big Bash League, reaching the semi-finals in the third season and becoming finalists in the fourth season, the Sixers finished in bottom place in last season tournament.
Sydney Sixers have an amazing squad on paper and that is one of the main reasons why they performed so badly last season. They have a lot of Australian international in their squad who are hardly available to play because of their international commitment.
The Sixers will be without Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Jackson Bird, Nathan Lyon and top batsman Nic Maddinson for the opener as all of them are involved in the current international series against Pakistan. Sam billings and Jason Roy will most likely start the first few matches for Sydney Sixers before they join the England team for the one-day series against India.
Squads:
Sydney Thunders: Shane Watson (c), Fawad Ahmed, Aiden Blizzard, Patrick Cummins, Jake Doran, Ryan Gibson, Chris Green, Chris Hartley, Usman Khawaja, Nathan McAndrew, Alister McDermott, Clint McKay, Eoin Morgan, Arjun Nair, Kurtis Patterson, Ben Rohrer, Andre Russell, Gurinder Sandhu
Sydney Sixers: Moises Henriques (c), Sean Abbott, Doug Bollinger, Jackson Bird, Johan Botha, Ryan Carters, Ben Dwarshuis, Brad Haddin, Josh Hazlewood, Daniel Hughes, Michael Lumb, Nathan Lyon, Nic Maddinson, Joe Mennie, Stephen O'Keefe, Jason Roy, Jordan Silk, Mitchell Starc
The Big Bash League 2016-17 match between Sydney Thunders and Sydney Sixers is set to start at 19:40 local time (08:40 GMT | 14:10 IST)
Where to watch
India: Star Sports 2/HD2. Live Streaming: Hotstar.com
Australia: TV: Network Ten. Live Streaming: Bigbash.com.au
United Kingdom: Sky Sports 2/HD2. Live Streaming: Watch Sky Sports
USA and Canada: Willow TV
South Africa: Supersport
