Big Bash League finals-bound Sydney Sixers are looking to give retiring paceman Brett Lee a successful SCG farewell and produce their first complete performance of the season.
The Sixers host cross-town rival Sydney Thunder on Thursday at the SCG in the last game before next weekend’s semi-finals.
Sixers officials are tipping a new NSW T20 record crowd and also the largest attendance for any day of cricket at the SCG this season.
They are already guaranteed a semi-final berth after the Melbourne Renegades loss on Monday night to Adelaide Strikers, who will definitely top the ladder.
Former international Lee could well play a semi-final match in Adelaide, as it’s extremely unlikely any combination of final round results will allow the fourth-placed Sixers to finish in the top two and host a semi.
Sixers captain Moises Henriques praised the paceman for the timing of the public announcement.
“I think it’s a very sensible time to come out and announce it, before your last home game, the boys all knew it was going to be his last year,” Henriques said.
“He’ll be missed massively in the sheds.
“On the field he’s performed beautifully for us this year, so we’ll try and play as well as we can for him out here at the SCG and hopefully send him off with a bang.”
While the Sixers have qualified for the semi-finals, Henriques stressed they have yet to put together a fully satisfactory performance.
“We were able to get four wins, but in each game at different stages we’ve probably performed a little bit poorer than what we loud have liked to.” Henriques said.
“We’re happy that we’ve still got a lot of improvement in us, so hopefully leading into the finals, we can start ticking some of those boxes and then when we do hit the finals, we’re really hitting the ground running.”
While The Sixers don’t have to worry about missing out on the semi-finals, Henriques emphasised there would still be some pressure for them to win against a team they have a 6-0 record BBL record against.
“It’s the last League game before we come back together into the NSW group, so there’s a lot of bragging rights up for grabs,” Henriques said.
“We don’t want to finish this season having lost to our mates across town.”
The NSW record of 32,823 for a single day of domestic cricket, set at the last Sydney Smash at ANZ Stadium on December 27, looks likely to fall on Thursday, with pre-sale tickets for the game, almost double those of their last clash.
The anticipated crowd is also tipped to top the tally of 30,161 for the opening day of the fourth Test against India earlier this month, the biggest SCG attendance this summer.
