Overview
The Sydney Sixers would have been taking it easy over these past few days, attempting to calm down after the adrenalin-fuelled drama of Australian domestic cricket’s first ever Twenty20 super over decider, against the Perth Scorchers at the SCG last Friday night.

The Sixers ultimately fell at the final hurdle, but will be better for the experience, and now can consolidate their spot in the BBL top four with a win in this match against the Hobart Hurricanes. It’s also the Sixers’ last game at the SCG, pending a home final, and so the magenta men will want to finish their regular season on a high, having lost two of their three home games in BBL|03.

The Hurricanes had things a little easier in this latest round of matches, comfortably accounting for the Sydney Thunder on a sunny Hobart afternoon last Saturday. That win propelled them into the top four for the first time this season, and depending on the outcome of the Renegades-Thunder match on Tuesday, they could find themselves as high as third on the table with a win in Sydney.

Key Battle: Sixers top order v Doug Bollinger
A battle that will have been fought out many times previously in the SCG nets at NSW training, this time Bollinger gets to put one over some of his state teammates for real and for competition points. Obviously, Bollinger won’t be alone in taking on the Sixers batsmen, but he is in the best position to know their relative weaknesses and strengths. The Hurricanes haven’t been scoring a lot of runs themselves in BBL|03, so any that Dougie can save or restrict on the Sixers side of the ledger, the easier the equation becomes for the Hurricanes.

Dark Horse: Nathan Lyon
With Xavier Doherty in the Australian ODI squad, this game represents a great chance for Lyon to remind the Hurricanes what they’re missing, and the Australian selectors that he’s more a than capable limited overs bowler. And he’s already doing that; though wicketless in Friday night’s thriller against Perth, Lyon was one of only two Sixers bowlers to operate at less than a run-a-ball, and this was nearly two whole runs an over better than Lyon’s career Twenty20 economy rate.

Last Time
December 26, 2012 @ SCG: A solid start for the Sixers saw them on track for a big total after being sent in, but a late collapse of 5/35 saw them restricted to 8/154. Ben Laughlin finished with 4/31, three of them coming in the 18th over of the innings.

In reply, a vintage 63* from the great RT Ponting, coupled with a 84-run stand with Aiden Blizzard (48) had Hobart cruising toward a comfortable win, only for a late stumble to see the winning runs hit off the penultimate ball of the match, whereas less than a run-a-ball was needed for the last four overs.

Squads
Sixers: Steve Smith (c), Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Josh Lalor, Brett Lee, Michael Lumb, Nathan Lyon, Nic Maddinson, Marcus North, Stephen O’Keefe, Jordan Silk, Dan Smith

Hurricanes: Tim Paine (c), Travis Birt, Aiden Blizzard, Doug Bollinger, Cameron Boyce, Ben Dunk, Evan Gulbis, Ben Hilfenhaus, Ben Laughlin, Shoaib Malik, Joe Mennie, Owais Shah, Jon Wells

Facts and Figures
Travis Birt has always been one of the competition’s biggest hitters. He’s struck a total of 28 sixes over the three seasons of the KFC BBL, just behind Chris Gayle, Chris Lynn (both 31), and Aaron Finch (32).

Until Friday night’s game, every Sixers player to have rolled their arm over this season had taken a wicket. Quick Josh Hazlewood leads the attack (9 wickets at an average of 17.55) and has been ably supported by five other Sixers bowlers who have taken two or more wickets (Lee, Henriques, Bopara, Lalor, and O’Keefe). On Friday night, Nathan Lyon and Englishman Chris Tremlett made wicketless debuts for the magenta men.

Ben Dunk has been the surprise packet for the Hurricanes this season and heads their run scorers list by exactly 100 runs from Travis Birt. Dunk also leads the batting averages, almost 20 runs better than the next best, Jon Wells, and his 96 against the Thunder on Saturday is the new high score for BBL|03.

Broadcast: from 7:30pm AEDT on Channel Ten, and on Fairfax Radio Network.

Source: www.bigbash.com.au