The Sydney Sixers are missing some big guns but Shane Warne believes they will still boast plenty of players who can rip a match away from his Melbourne Stars on Friday night.
The Big Bash League MCG clash pits last season’s champions against this season’s title favourites.
But while the Sixers are coming off a poor defeat to the Perth Scorchers – their first loss in 13 matches – and the Stars off consecutive impressive wins, Warne expects Sydney to bounce back hard.
“They’ll be pretty pumped to come here and play well,” Warne said on Thursday.
“They were the favourites.
“I think most of the teams or most of the captains I spoke to, the Sixers were the favourites to win the tournament after they won the Champions League and they won the Big Bash last year.”
The Sixers will be without Australian Test team members David Warner and Mitchell Starc, the injured Josh Hazlewood and English big-hitter Michael Lumb, who is on international duty.
But Warne said in veterans Brad Haddin and Brett Lee, allrounders Steve Smith and Moises Henriques and West Indies’ spinner Sunil Narine, Sydney still had at least a handful of potential game-turners.
“They’ve got some match winners in their side – they’ve got four or five,” Warne said.
“They’ve got some really good players and that’s why they’ve won (last season’s title).”
The Stars have lost English allrounder Luke Wright, who opens their batting, to international duty, but Warne said they had plenty of players who could partner Rob Quiney at the top of the order.
He said a win over the Sixers would be a huge boost.
“To be three (wins) and one (loss) at the halfway stage and you have three or four teams who have won one and lost two, suddenly there’s a big gap,” he said.
“So this is a really crucial game at the halfway stage for us.”
The Stars have regained recent Test debutant John Hastings from a back injury into their 13-man squad.
Squads:
Stars: Shane Warne (capt), James Faulkner, Peter Handscomb, John Hastings, Scott Henry, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Glenn Maxwell, Clint McKay, Lasith Malinga, Rob Quiney, Clive Rose, Cameron White.
Sixers: Brad Haddin (capt), Luke Feldman, Moises Henriques, Josh Lalor, Brett Lee, Jeevan Mendis, Ian Moran, Sunil Narine, Stephen O’Keefe, Dan Smith, Steve Smith, Dominic Thornely.
