The Stars have won two on the bounce but still need to beat the in-form Sydney Sixers to keep their season alive
Melbourne Stars v Sydney Sixers: match preview
Match facts
Who: Melbourne Stars v Sydney Sixers
What: Match 28, KFC BBL|14
Where: MCG, Melbourne
When: Thursday, January 9. Bat flip at 6:30pm AEDT), 7:15pm AEDT
How to watch: Channel Seven, 7plus, 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 and Simon Lightbody (field), Phil Gillespie (third), Chris Grant (fourth), Bob Stratford (match referee)
Match squads
Melbourne Stars: Marcus Stoinis (c), Hilton Cartwright, Ben Duckett (England), Sam Harper, Dan Lawrence (England), Glenn Maxwell, Jonathan Merlo, Usama Mir (Pakistan), Joel Paris, Tom Rogers, Peter Siddle, Mark Steketee, Douglas Warren, Beau Webster
In: Beau Webster. Out: Campbell Kellaway
Beau Webster is back for the Stars after a whirlwind Test debut in Sydney last week, where his all-round efforts helped Australia win back the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Sydney Sixers: Moises Henriques (c), Sean Abbott, Joel Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Akeal Hosein (West Indies), Hayden Kerr, Todd Murphy, Kurtis Patterson, Mitch Perry, Josh Philippe, Lachlan Shaw, Jordan Silk, James Vince (England)
In: Sean Abbott. Out: Ben Manenti
Sean Abbott returns from his time with the Test side to bolster the Sixers attack. The club will be hoping overseas stars James Vince and Akeal Hosein can have a big impact in their last game of the season.
Club news
Melbourne Stars
Sydney Sixers
Get the latest
Top performers
Most Runs
BBL|14 BKT Golden Bat
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
1
Cooper Connolly
C Connolly
|
272 |
|
2
Marcus Stoinis
M Stoinis
|
242 |
|
3
David Warner
D Warner
|
228 |
|
4
Max Bryant
M Bryant
|
225 |
|
5
Ben Duckett
B Duckett
|
202 |
|
6
Mitchell Owen
M Owen
|
189 |
|
7
Chris Lynn
C Lynn
|
183 |
|
8
James Vince
J Vince
|
175 |
Most Wickets
BBL|14 BKT Golden Arm
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
|
1
Tom Rogers
T Rogers
|
13 |
|
2
Jason Behrendorff
J Behrendorff
|
12 |
|
3
Henry Thornton
H Thornton
|
11 |
|
4
Lloyd Pope
L Pope
|
11 |
|
5
Ben Dwarshuis
B Dwarshuis
|
10 |
|
6
Xavier Bartlett
X Bartlett
|
10 |
|
7
Lance Morris
L Morris
|
10 |
|
8
Jamie Overton
J Overton
|
9 |
Most sixes scored
BBL|14
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
|
1
Cooper Connolly
C Connolly
|
14 |
|
2
Max Bryant
M Bryant
|
12 |
|
3
Finn Allen
F Allen
|
10 |
|
4
Mitchell Owen
M Owen
|
10 |
|
5
Josh Brown
J Brown
|
9 |
|
6
Chris Lynn
C Lynn
|
9 |
|
7
Jamie Overton
J Overton
|
9 |
|
8
Matthew Renshaw
M Renshaw
|
9 |
Local knowledge
Rapid stats
- The Sydney Sixers have won 11 of their last 12 BBL matches against the Melbourne Stars (L1), including each of their last two; their only defeat in that span was a four-wicket loss in December 2023.
- The Melbourne Stars defeated the Melbourne Renegades by five wickets in their most recent BBL match in Victoria (4 January 2025); the Stars will be aiming for back-to-back wins in their home state for the first time since December 2022.
- The Sydney Sixers have a collective batting average of 32.8 in BBL|14, their best in a single season in the competition; in addition, the Sixers have hit a boundary once every six balls faced, their second most frequent in a single campaign (once every 5.6 balls faced in BBL|10).
- James Vince (1,960) is 40 away from becoming the fifth player to score 1,000 runs for the Sydney Sixers in BBL history (Moises Henriques, Josh Philippe, Jordan Silk, Daniel Hughes); he's scored 70+ in each of his last four innings in the competition against Melbourne Stars (91*, 83, 79, 101*).
- Ben Duckett (Melbourne Stars) has recorded three scores of 50+ in BBL|14, with those three scores coming in his last four innings (68, 67, 0, 67); only Marcus Stoinis (7 in BBL|09, 4 in BBL|08), Joe Clarke (5 in BBL|11) and Kevin Pietersen (4 in BBL|05) have logged more in a single season for the Stars in BBL history.
What's on the line?
The two sides have had a contrasting run in the tournament so far. The Stars have momentum on their side with wins in the last two games and they need to continue with it to stay alive in the competition after their horror start. The Sixers, on the other hand, will be looking to get back to winning ways and consolidated their top spot after a rain washout followed a loss to the Hurricanes in their last two outings.
KFC BBL|14 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
SIX
|
6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.228 | 0 | 9 |
|
2
THU
|
7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0.167 | 0 | 9 |
|
3
HUR
|
6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -0.154 | 0 | 9 |
|
4
HEA
|
7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | -0.518 | 0 | 7 |
|
5
SCO
|
7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.624 | 0 | 6 |
|
6
REN
|
7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.392 | 0 | 6 |
|
7
STR
|
7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -0.299 | 0 | 4 |
|
8
STA
|
7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -0.531 | 0 | 4 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points
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