As many as 30,000 are expected at the Gabba for this season's New Year’s Bash as the Heat host the Sixers
All you need to know: Brisbane Heat v Sydney Sixers
Match facts
Who: Brisbane Heat v Sydney Sixers
What: Match 22, BBL|13
Where: The Gabba, Brisbane
When: Monday, January 1. Bat flip at 5.30pm local (6.30pm AEDT), first ball at 6.15pm local (7.15pm AEDT)
How to watch: Channel Seven, 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: Ben Treloar (field), Steve Dionysius (field), Gerard Abood (third), Nathan James (fourth), Kepler Wessels (match referee)
Match squads
Heat: Colin Munro (New Zealand) (c), Xavier Bartlett, Sam Billings (England), Josh Brown, Max Bryant, Jordan Buckingham, Spencer Johnson, Matthew Kuhnemann, Nathan McSweeney, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Mitch Swepson, Paul Walter (England)
Sixers: Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird, Joel Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Todd Murphy, Stephen O'Keefe, Kurtis Patterson, Mitch Perry, Josh Philippe, Jordan Silk, James Vince (England)
Form guide
Heat: WWWDW (most recent first)
The only blemish on their record so far this season has been a no-result in Adelaide when rain prevent a single ball from being bowled. Wade Seccombe's side have been the beneficiary of squad consistency with this group having played together for some time, knowing each player’s role within the team structure. The Heat host the first of back-to-back matches between the two clubs, with the Sixers then hosting Brisbane in Coffs Harbour two days' later.
Sixers: DLWWW
Were one over away from victory over crosstown rivals the Thunder in their last match before the rain came down in western Sydney and prevented the players from getting back on. Apart from a surprise four-wicket defeat to the Stars on Boxing Day, the Sixers have been one of the form teams in BBL|13 and look certain to be contenting for their fourth Big Bash title at the business end of the season.
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
Xavier Bartlett is relishing the responsibility bowling up front in the Powerplay and at the death this season and is the competition's second leading wicket-taker so far with nine at an average of 11.11 – a career low from his four Big Bash campaigns. He's also claiming a wicket once every 9.33 balls bowled so far this season compared to his career strike rate of 16.24, and his economy rate in BBL|13 (7.14) is down more than a run from his career mark of 8.28.
It's been a supremely consistent bowling effort from the Heat this season with Mitch Swepson (7) and Paul Walter (6) also in the top 10 wicket-takers for BBL|13. Brisbane have added seasoned wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson to their squad for the New Year's Day clash, with local replacement player Hugo Burdon dropping out.
Jack Edwards – who Aussie legend Brett Lee believes can bowl even faster and push past the 140kph mark – is enjoying a breakout Big Bash season with seven wickets at an excellent economy rate of 7.82, including a career-best 3-24 against the Thunder on Saturday. The 23-year-old allrounder had never bowled a ball in the BBL before this season, let alone taken a wicket, and he now has seven in 102 deliveries. Also made a 23-ball 30 against the Stars in the game before last, and once he gets his T20 batting going, he'll be a force to be reckoned with.
Head-to-head
Overall: Heat (5 wins), Sixers (13 wins), no result (1)
At the Gabba: Heat (2 wins), Sixers (7 wins)
Most runs: Daniel Hughes (356), Chris Lynn (322), Moises Henriques (271), Jimmy Peirson (260), James Vince (241)
Most wickets: Sean Abbott (27), Ben Dwarshuis (15), Mark Steketee (12), Steve O'Keefe (11), Josh Lalor (10)
The venue
Rapid stats
- Brisbane Heat have won each of their last two BBL matches against the Sydney Sixers, which is the first time the Heat have recorded consecutive wins against the Sixers in the history of the competition.
- Brisbane Heat have won 11 of their last 13 BBL matches, including each of their last four. A fifth consecutive win in this game would equal their longest winning run in the history of the competition (five wins from January-December 2016).
- Batters have played a false shot on 264 of the Sydney Sixers' balls bowled this BBL season, eight more than any other team in the competition and 54 more than the Brisbane Heat (210).
- Matt Renshaw (918) is 82 away from becoming the sixth player to score 1000 runs for the Brisbane Heat in BBL history. His batting average against the Sixers (38.8) is his second best against any team in the competition (70.7 v Adelaide Strikers).
- Sydney Sixers' skipper Moises Henriques (99) is one away from becoming the first player to make 100 appearances as captain in BBL history – Henriques' 57 wins as captain is 22 more than the next best player (Aaron Finch – 35 for Melbourne Renegades).
What's on the line?
A New Year's Day treat at the Gabba with two of this season’s title contenders going head-to-head to bring in 2024. The Sixers will be out to avenge their defeat in last season's Challenger when Michael Neser lifted the Heat into the BBL|12 decider with 48 not out. Victory this time around would see the Sixers draw level with the Heat on nine points at the top of the BBL|13 standings, while a win for Brisbane would put them four points clear on top.
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