Team news, key match-ups, TV and streaming information, weather forecast, odds, form rundown, umpire appointments, start times, venue and squad lists for the Challenger in BBL11
Sydney Sixers take on Adelaide Strikers in the Challenger in the 2021-22 Big Bash.
The game is set for Wednesday, January 25. The first ball will be bowled at 7.25pm local time (8.25am GMT).
The game will be held at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
While the Sixers bettered the Strikers by seven points as they won an extra three games in the league format, they had a slight slip, losing two of their last five, and were then beaten convincingly by Perth Scorchers in the qualifier.
The Strikers on the other hand, finished the league format in tremendous fashion, winning four games on the bounce, and then went on to prevail both the eliminator versus Hobart Hurricanes and the knockout against Sydney Thunder, so they are looking to make it seven wins on the spin.
The sides split their group stage games, with the Sixers winning a tight contest by four wickets in December, and the Strikers returning the favour during their current win streak, breezing to 165 for 2 in response to the Sixers’ 161 for 7, in just 17.3 overs.
Hayden Kerr (Mike Owen/Getty Images)
Both sides are stacked at the top of the batting order. The Strikers top order features second-top run-scorer in the competition Matt Short, who has 487 runs at an average of 34.78, as well as Australia wicket-keeper Alex Carey, who has hit 90 runs in two innings since his return to the side.
Then there is Ian Cockbain, a relative unknown to franchise leagues, with the Englishman making his overseas franchise debut in the Big Bash. He has burst onto the scene, hitting 190 runs in his first five games in the tournament. The Strikers then have in-form batter Travis Head completing their top four, who has had a summer to remember.
The Sixers top order may be slightly weaker, but only slightly, with last seasons player of the tournament Josh Philippe having hit 429 runs at the top this season. The Sixers are then supplemented by skipper Moises Henriques, who sits just behind Philippe in the run charts, on 420.
The Sixers lower order have chipped in nicely this season as well, with Sean Abbott and Ben Dwarshuis saving the side in late December with scores of 37 and 23 respectively in the famous win over Brisbane Heat. Dwarshuis went even bigger last time out, hitting his maiden T20 half-century as he finished on 66 from 29 balls at a mesmerising strike rate of 227.59 against finalists Scorchers.
While the batting sways slightly in the Strikers’ favour, the bowling goes the other way. Granted, Strikers skipper Peter Siddle is the highest wicket-taker, but the lack of Rashid Khan in the latter stages of the tournament has led to a slightly weaker attack, though the likes of Henry Thornton and Fawad Ahmed have stepped up in his place.
The Sixers bowling attack is crammed with talent, with Hayden Kerr, Ben Dwarshuis and Sean Abbott all taking heaps of wickets in this season's Big Bash, with 24, 17 and 16 respectively.
The match-up between the strike bowlers on either side against the explosive batting of the other will be the most interesting contest, and if the batters can begin to take the bowlers on early, we will be in for a treat.
Names will appear when information becomes available.
Very limited chance of rain, with temperatures around 23 degrees Celsius at start of play.
Sydney Sixers: Moises Henriques, Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird (Lawrence Neil-Smith), Daniel Christian, Tom Curran, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Mickey Edwards, Daniel Hughes, Chris Jordan (first five matches), Hayden Kerr, Nathan Lyon (Nick Winter), Ben Manenti, Stephen O'Keefe, Josh Philippe, Lloyd Pope, Jordan Silk, James Vince, Shadab Khan
Adelaide Strikers: Wes Agar, Fawad Ahmed, Alex Carey, Harry Conway, George Garton, Ryan Gibson, Travis Head, Spencer Johnson, Rashid Khan (Ian Cockbain, January 13 until end of season), Harry Nielsen, Liam O’Connor, Matthew Renshaw, Liam Scott, Matt Short, Peter Siddle, Jake Weatherald, Jon Wells, Daniel Worrall
Ian Cockbain has made an instant impression (Mark Brake/Getty Images)
Sydney Sixers: Justin Avendano, Josh Philippe, Nicholas Bertus, Moises Henriques, Dan Christian, Jordan Silk, Sean Abbott, Hayden Kerr, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Lyon, Steve O’Keefe
Adelaide Strikers: Alex Carey, Matt Short, Ian Cockbain, Travis Head, Jonathan Wells, Matt Renshaw, Thomas Kelly, Henry Thornton, Harry Conway, Peter Siddle, Fawad Ahmed
It’s a tight one, with Sixers given odds of 5/6 and Strikers at 10/11.
This should genuinely be one of the tightest games of the season, with everything on the line. It will be nervy. The Sixers will be looking to rebound from their loss against the Scorchers, while the Strikers are the team to fear, given their immense winning run. If the Sixers top order can match the power of the Strikers, they should have enough to make it to a third successive final.
Sky Sports have bought the rights for the competition through to 2025, and they will broadcast all 61 games in the UK.
Fox Sports and Seven Network both have television rights in Australia: subscription broadcaster Fox show every game, while free-to-air Seven will simulcast 45 matches.
BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra will have ball-by-ball radio coverage of the tournament for UK listeners.
Where can I watch the competition elsewhere in the world?
North America: Willow
MENA: beIN Sports
Sub Saharan Africa: SuperSport
Indian Subcontinent: Sony
New Zealand: Sky Sport
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