Sixers find fighting spirit to lead way in WBBL|08

The Sydney Sixers have rediscovered the fighting spirit that led them to back-to-back Big Bash titles, as they continue their remarkable turnaround in Weber WBBL|08.

The Sixers sit top of the table with six wins from seven matches, a significant change in fortunes after finishing on the bottom with just four wins last season.

While their personnel remain largely the same – just four changes were made to their list from WBBL|07 – canny overseas recruitment and a fresh attitude have helped reboot the two-time champions.

Of their seven matches to date, Ashleigh Gardner believes it was their only loss, a narrow three-run defeat to Adelaide Strikers, that could be the strongest indicator of how the club has turned things around.

In that game at Karen Rolton Oval, the Sixers were floundering at 6-94 chasing 143 before Erin Burns’ 38-ball 71 almost stole a miraculous win.

"We knew that we weren't that far off and we really fought, where I think in the past, we probably would have fallen into a heap," Gardner told cricket.com.au of the Strikers defeat.

"I just think that the spirits are high. We're all having fun. We're all playing with a smile on our face, which ultimately means that you're probably enjoying it, which we might not have been last year."

Gardner’s form with bat and ball has been instrumental in the Sixers’ turnaround this season; she has 12 wickets already to her name – only Jess Jonassen and Sixers teammate Sophie Ecclestone have more with 13 – while her 152 runs have come at a strike rate of 142.

The off-spinner has been impressive under pressure in the Power Play and Power Surge, taking 4-23 against Hobart Hurricanes in Ballarat and 3-22 in the Sydney Smash.

"There's been a lot of hard work over the last couple of years and I've worked pretty closely with Shelly Nitschke at an Australian level and it's about confidence and actually being consistent," Gardner said of her bowling.

"Where I think in the past when I was an option, I just wasn't consistent. I'd bowl that one over and it would go for 10 so I wouldn't get brought back.

"Now it's being confident in my ability, knowing that I am capable of actually bowling good areas and I'm someone that Pez can call on at any point.

"I didn't think that I'd be a bowler that would bowl in the Surge. But here we are."

Her recent efforts with the bat have also pleased the 25-year-old, who felt she was hitting well in the nets without being able to translate it into the middle early in the season.

"It's nice to see the hard work's actually paying off with both bat and ball and I guess just trying to keep my standards up in the field too," she said.

"I'm just enjoying my cricket at the moment and I think that's really helping because I'm having fun out there."

The Sixers bowling unit overall has stepped up a significant notch from WBBL|07; Ecclestone and Gardner are joined by Maitlan Brown (12) and Lauren Cheatle (11) in the top five wicket takers for the league, a major turnaround from last season where Cheatle topped the club’s wickets tally with 10 despite only playing eight matches.

Likewise, renewed confidence with the bat is not limited to Gardner; last season, the Sixers posted totals below 100 on three occasions, and no Sixer featured in the league’s top 10 run scorers.

This season, Suzie Bates (208) and Erin Burns (183) are currently in the top five, while early wickets have not led to devastating collapses and the middle-to-lower order is making significant contributions; in Wednesday’s Sydney Smash, the Sixers were 5-94 before Nicole Bolton and Brown’s 56-run stand built a match-winning total.

"I think probably the last two years we've certainly been exposed losing early wickets," Gardner said following Wednesday’s match.

"(Now) I don't think it's panic stations when we lose to two wickets, probably compared to the past where we did get rattled a little bit, but I guess that's the growth of the team and a change of mindset, really."

Gardner pointed to a return to normality after two seasons in bubbles and away from home as an important factor in the Sixers’ rejuvenation, alongside the fresh ideas brought in by new coach Charlotte Edwards.

"We had the same kind of squad for the past seven years, and to have some fresh faces and some fresh ideas, I think it's gone a long way," she said.

"There's still so much time left in the tournament but I think we're that we're in a good place.

"(A normal season) has been huge, to be honest. Being able to actually spend some time at home and not having to feel like you're on the road for three months straight, has certainly helped and it just keeps you fresh because you get to go home and you get to relax."

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