Two undefeated teams clash at the SCG in what promises to be a mouthwatering showdown between two title contenders
All you need to know: Sydney Sixers v Adelaide Strikers
Match facts
Who: Sydney Sixers v Adelaide Strikers
What: Match 11, BBL|13
Where: SCG, Sydney
When: Friday, December 22. Bat flip at 6.30pm AEDT, first ball at 7.15pm AEDT
How to watch: Fox Cricket, Kayo Sports
Buy tickets: Tickets are on sale here
Live scores: Match Centre
Highlights, news and reactions after the match: cricket.com.au, the CA Live and Big Bash apps
Officials: Donovan Koch (field), Gerard Abood (field), Drew Crozier (third), Roberto Howard (fourth), David Gilbert (match referee)
Match squads
Sixers: Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird, Joel Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Moises Henriques, Ryan Hadley, Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Todd Murphy, Izharulhaq Naveed (Afghanistan), Stephen O'Keefe, Kurtis Patterson, Mitch Perry, Josh Philippe, Jordan Silk, James Vince (England)
Strikers: Matthew Short (c), Wes Agar, James Bazley, Cameron Boyce, Brendan Doggett, Adam Hose (England), Chris Lynn, Ben Manenti, Harry Nielsen (wk), Jamie Overton (England), David Payne (England), D'Arcy Short, Jake Weatherald
Form guide
Sixers: WWLLW (most recent first)
The perennial title contenders have started the new season with two straight wins, leaning on their experience to get the job done against the Hurricanes before the BBL break for the first Test.
Strikers: WDLLL
Started their campaign off with a statement win over the Thunder at Adelaide Oval by chasing down 200 with two balls to spare. Again appear to have a strong squad on paper that can contend for the final and will be out to bank crucial wins early, especially against a high-quality opposition like the Sixers.
KFC BBL|13 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
HEA
|
10 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0.972 | 0 | 16 |
|
2
SIX
|
10 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.339 | 0 | 14 |
|
3
SCO
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.725 | 0 | 13 |
|
4
STR
|
10 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0.331 | 0 | 11 |
|
5
HUR
|
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -0.268 | 0 | 8 |
|
6
STA
|
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -1.051 | 0 | 8 |
|
7
REN
|
10 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2 | -0.288 | 0 | 6 |
|
8
THU
|
10 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2 | -0.652 | 0 | 4 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points
Players to watch
Daniel Hughes will play his 100th BBL match fresh off guiding the Sixers to a final-over victory against the Hurricanes with 60 not out. The veteran left-hander missed the Sixers' opening match of the season due to the availability of Steve Smith but has been one of the club's most reliable performers across his 11-year career and is their all-time fourth highest run-scorer with 2025.
Sean Abbott is a welcome inclusion after missing the last match due to personal reasons, and along with Ben Dwarshuis will shoulder extra responsibility following the four-game suspension handed to English fast bowling allrounder Tom Curran. Dwarshuis has claimed five wickets in the Sixers' opening two matches and sits equal second in the wickets tally for the tournament. Hayden Kerr also returns to the squad after missing the opening matches through injury and Ryan Hadley has been moved back onto the main roster as a local replacement player for Smith.
What a sensational start for the Strikers new opening pair Matt Short and D'Arcy Short, putting on 139 for the first wicket to set up their final over win over the Thunder on Tuesday. Reigning player of the tournament Matt Short again showed the form that's earnt ODI and T20I debuts for Australia this year with a sublime 41-ball 82, while a new environment looks to have helped D'Arcy Short rediscover the touch that's made him the competition's fourth highest run-scorer of all-time (2772 at 37.45). The Strikers have made two changes to the squad from the win over the Thunder on Tuesday with Henry Thornton and Josh Kann dropping out.
Head-to-head
Overall: Sixers (12 wins), Strikers (7 wins)
At the SCG: Sixers (3 wins), Strikers (2 wins)
Most runs: Jon Wells (368), Moises Henriques (305), Jordan Silk (301), Alex Carey (244), Josh Philippe (244)
Most wickets: Sean Abbott (22), Rashid Khan (19), Ben Dwarshuis (18), Steve O'Keefe (17), Henry Thornton (7)
The venue
Rapid stats
- Sydney Sixers have won nine of their last 11 BBL games against the Adelaide Strikers, including a 59-run win when they last met (January 2023). The Sixers have also won their last three straight meetings with the Strikers at the Sydney Cricket Ground, successfully chasing down totals of 167, 147 and 124.
- Sydney Sixers have won 10 of their last 11 BBL games at the SCG, including an eight-run win over the Melbourne Renegades in their only previous games at the venue in BBL13.
- Adelaide Strikers have lost their last six BBL games outside South Australia, failing to defend a total on four occasions during that span. But their most recent win away from their home state came on their last visit to Sydney when they defeated the Thunder by 124 runs in December 2022.
- Sydney Sixers have conceded 45 and 37 runs in each of their last two BBL Powerplays after restricting their opposition to fewer than 30 runs in six of their previous seven Powerplays in the competition.
- Matt Short (Adelaide Strikers) opened his BBL|13 campaign with a knock of 82 runs off 41 balls after finishing his BBL|12 season with back-to-back ducks. He's scored 124 runs across his last two innings against the Sydney Sixers, which is more than he’d scored in all his seven previous innings against their opponents on Friday.
What's on the line?
A third straight win to start the season would put the Sixers just one point behind the Heat at the top of the BBL|13 standings and well on the way to sealing a sixth consecutive finals berth. A win for the Strikers would also keep their unbeaten record intact this season and see them jump the Sixers into third.
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