Team news, key match-ups, TV and streaming information, weather forecast, odds, form rundown, umpire appointments, start times, venue and squad lists for the 13th game of BBL11
Melbourne Stars take on Sydney Sixers in the 13th game of the 2021-22 Big Bash.
The game is set for Wednesday, December 15. The first ball will be bowled at 6:15pm local time (8:15am GMT).
The game will be held at the MCG in Melbourne.
In the opening match of BBL11, Sydney Sixers inflicted the biggest defeat in the tournament's history on Melbourne Stars, winning by a huge 152-run margin at the SCG. They followed up their record win with a narrow 14-run victory over Hobart Hurricanes in Tasmania but were brought back down to earth with bump against the same opponents in Sydney. The Hurricanes made mincemeat of the Sixers bowling attack, smashing 213 runs from their 20 overs before restricting the defending champions to 151 for 4 to complete a 44-run DRS win.
Melbourne Stars, meanwhile, are unbeaten since that embarrassing day in Sydney, defeating Sydney Thunder by four runs before cruising to a six-wicket victory over the same opponents with 17 balls to spare on Sunday. And the key to their success? The return of their star players - Marcus Stoinis, Qais Ahmad, Andre Russell, and Nathan Coulter-Nile were all absent from their side's season opener.
Expect a much closer encounter at the MCG.
Josh Philippe scored 83 runs from 47 balls when these two sides met at the SCG [Cameron Spencer/Getty Images]
The big worry for Sydney Sixers heading into Wednesday's clash is the presence of Andre Russell and Qais Ahmad in the Melbourne Stars XI. Russell, who is ranked fifth on the men's T20 Player Index, has already made a big impact in his first two appearances for the Stars, notably scoring a match-winning 42 from 21 balls against Sydney Thunder in Sydney. And with a T20 career strike rate of 169.78, he could wreak havoc with Sydney Sixers' wounded bowling attack.
Tricky spinner Ahmad, meanwhile, has posted figures of 1 for 23 (three overs) and 2 for 17 (four overs) from his two appearances to date and has the third-best economy (5.71) among players to bowl more than four overs in BBL11. Only Tim David (5.43) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (5.58) have been more miserly with the ball.
From their own players the Sixers will be hoping for a big performance from James Vince. The Englishman scored 537 runs in BBL10 but has posted knocks of 44, 13 and 26 this season. Josh Philippe and Moises Henriques, who bat either of Vince, have each scored two half-centuries in three innings so a big knock from the Hampshire captain in support would be valuable as the defending champions attempt to bounce back from the Hurricanes defeat.
With the ball, Steve O'Keefe and Tom Curran are Sydney's leading wicket-takers, with five apiece. However, pace bowler Curran has proved expensive with the ball, conceding 10.04 runs per over.
Shawn Craig and Bruce Oxenford are the men in the middle for this one.
Damp weather is expected to hit Melbourne in the afternoon but should have cleared before the bat flip. Temperatures are forecasted to hover around 17 degrees Celsius.
Melbourne Stars: Qais Ahmad, Joe Burns, Hilton Cartwright, Joe Clarke, Brody Couch, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Sam Elliott, Syed Faridoun, Liam Hatcher, Clint Hinchcliffe, Nick Larkin, Glenn Maxwell, Peter Nevill, Tom O’Connell, Sam Rainbird, Marcus Stoinis, Beau Webster, Adam Zampa, Haris Rauf (from December 27), Andre Russell (five games from December 10), Ahmed Daniyal (from December 10)
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
Andre Russell (L) and Qais Ahmad (R) [Cameron Spencer/Getty Images]
Melbourne Stars: Marcus Stoinis, Joe Clarke, Nick Larkin, Glenn Maxwell, Andre Russell, Hilton Cartwright, Beau Webster, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Adam Zampa, Qais Ahmad, Brody Couch
Sydney Sixers: Josh Philippe, James Vince, Moises Henriques, Dan Christian, Daniel Hughes, Jordan Silk, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Sean Abbott, Hayden Kerr, Steve O'Keefe
Melbourne Stars are the narrow favourites to win this fixture with Oddschecker offering odds of 10/11. Sydney Sixers are available at 1/1.
Too close to call - Sydney Sixers will be shellshocked after conceding over 200 runs against Hobart Hurricanes and keen to return to winning ways while Melbourne Stars are able to field a much stronger XI than the one they put up at the SCG.
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
BIG BASH TEAM GUIDES (open in external window in app)
Welcome to www.thecricketer.com - the online home of the world’s oldest cricket magazine. Breaking news, interviews, opinion and cricket goodness from every corner of our beautiful sport, from village green to national arena.