The first game on Saturday for Twenty20 Big Bash Round 1 is between Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder. The opening ball is set to commence at 7:15pm with the game to be played at Sydney Cricket Ground. The favourite for the match is home team Sydney Sixers. View our preview and teams for the game between Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder.

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When: Saturday, December 21, 2013, 7:15pm AEDT (7:15pm local time)

Where: Sydney Cricket Ground

Sydney Sixers $1.85 vs Sydney Thunder $1.95 at Sportsbet Australia get a $250 FREE BET on this match

Sydney Sixers $1.85 vs Sydney Thunder $1.95 at Luxbet Australia get a $500 FREE BET on this match

Odds Comparison:

Sydney Sixers	1.85	1.85	1.85	1.85	1.85	1.85
Sydney Thunder	1.95	1.95	1.95	1.95	1.95	1.93

Teams:

Sydney Sixers T20 Squad
Brad Haddin(c/w), Luke Feldman, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Josh Lalor, Brett Lee, Michael Lumb, Nic Maddinson, Jeevan Mendis, Ian Moran, Sunil Narine, Stephen O’Keefe,Kurtis Patterson, Daniel Smith, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Dominic Thornely, David Warner

Sydney Thunders Squad
Michael Clarke(C), Sean Abbott, Azhar Mahmood, Cameron Borgas, Ryan Carters(w), Mark Cosgrove, Adam Coyte, Scott Coyte, Luke Doran, Chris Gayle, Adam Zampa, Martin Guptill, Usman Khawaja, Matt Prior, Rhett Lockyear, Chris Rogers, Simon Keen, Jason Floros,Daniel Hughes, Mike Hussey, Dirk Nannes, Kurtis Patterson, Gurinder Sandhu, Chris Tremain

Preview:

Previous Encounters
Jan. 8, 2012 — Sixers (7/117) def. Thunder (4/29) by 17 runs (D/L method)
Dec. 8, 2012 — Sixers (3/147) def. Thunder (5/143) by 7 wickets
Dec. 30, 2012 — Sixers (6/136) def. Thunder (6/132) by 4 wickets

THREE STARS TO WATCH FOR
David Warner, Sydney Thunder
David Warner was expected to miss the first few games for the Thunder due to his Test commitments, but with Cricket Australia announcing that the Test opener is eligible to play the Thunder’s opening-round match, Warner instantly becomes the player to watch out for.

The left-hander needs no introduction in terms of his raw power and hitting ability, and is capable of turning any match on its head in just a handful of deliveries.

Sean Abbott, Sydney Sixers
Abbott has quickly progressed as one of the more underrated limited overs bowlers in Australian domestic cricket and could well use this tournament as somewhat of a ‘breaking out’ party.

Abbott was dynamic with the ball throughout the Ryobi Cup this year and holds an impressive T20 bowling average of 26.86 from his 19 matches so far. Look for the 21-year-old to be a real handful during the middle overs of an innings.

Usman Khawaja, Sydney Thunder
Khawaja has made a name for himself in nearly all formats of the game but continues to be underrated as a T20 batsman.

He led the Thunder in terms of runs scored last year. With a much better batting complement around him this year, the classy left-hander should be able to play his natural game and accumulate the runs once more.

The Last Word…
“You look at BBL and see the stumps light up, big crowds and all these bright kits… I think it’s brilliant. There’s only a few teams as well, which makes it a very strong competition. I had a look at the Sixers squad and I think we’ll do very well. We’ve got [Michael] Lumb at the top of the order who makes a huge difference and I’m hoping to make a big difference as well…” (Ravi Bopara via The Daily Telegraph)

Source: www.theroar.com.au