It's sudden death for both sides as the third-placed Thunder host the fourth-placed Stars in the BBL|14 Knockout final
Sydney Thunder v Melbourne Stars: Knockout preview
Match facts
Who: Sydney Thunder v Melbourne Stars
What: Knockout, KFC BBL|14
Where: Engie Stadium, Sydney
When: Wednesday, January 22. Bat flip at 6.45pm AEDT, first ball at 7.30pm AEDT
How to watch: Channel Seven, 7plus, Fox Cricket, Kayo Sports
Listen: ABC, SEN
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 Phil Gillespie (field), Mike Graham-Smith (third), Simon Lightbody (fourth), Bob Stratford (match referee)
Match squads
Sydney Thunder: David Warner (c), Wes Agar, Tom Andrews, Sam Billings (England), Ollie Davies, George Garton (England), Matt Gilkes, Toby Gray, Chris Green, Muhammad Hasnain (Pakistan), Nathan McAndrew, Blake Nikitaras, Tanveer Sangha, Hugh Weibgen
Ins: Toby Gray, Blake Nikitaras. Outs: Dan Christian, Sam Konstas (Test squad)
Leg-spinner Toby Gray and batter Blake Nikitaras come into the Thunder's 14-player squad. Veteran Dan Christian makes way while teenage sensation Sam Konstas has departed for Test duties ahead of Australia's tour of Sri Lanka.
Melbourne Stars: Marcus Stoinis (c), Hilton Cartwright, Tom Curran (England), Peter Handscomb, Sam Harper, Campbell Kellaway, Glenn Maxwell, Jonathan Merlo, Usama Mir (Pakistan), Joel Paris, Tom Rogers, Peter Siddle, Mark Steketee, Douglas Warren
Ins: Peter Handscomb, Campbell Kellaway. Out: Beau Webster, Blake Macdonald
After being announced as a replacement player for Beau Webster, Peter Handscomb comes straight into the squad in place of the allrounder who has also departed for Test duties. Batter Campbell Kellaway also returns in place of Blake Macdonald.
What they said
Club news
Sydney Thunder
Melbourne Stars
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Top performers
Most Runs
BBL|14 BKT Golden Bat
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
1
Cooper Connolly
C Connolly
|
351 |
|
2
David Warner
D Warner
|
346 |
|
3
Mitchell Owen
M Owen
|
308 |
|
4
Glenn Maxwell
G Maxwell
|
297 |
|
5
Marcus Stoinis
M Stoinis
|
296 |
|
6
Matthew Renshaw
M Renshaw
|
280 |
|
7
Max Bryant
M Bryant
|
259 |
|
8
Alex Ross
A Ross
|
256 |
Most Wickets
BBL|14 BKT Golden Arm
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
|
1
Jason Behrendorff
J Behrendorff
|
17 |
|
2
Tom Rogers
T Rogers
|
16 |
|
3
Mark Steketee
M Steketee
|
15 |
|
4
Lance Morris
L Morris
|
15 |
|
5
Lloyd Pope
L Pope
|
15 |
|
6
Spencer Johnson
S Johnson
|
13 |
|
7
Henry Thornton
H Thornton
|
12 |
|
8
Xavier Bartlett
X Bartlett
|
12 |
Most sixes scored
BBL|14
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
|
1
Glenn Maxwell
G Maxwell
|
26 |
|
2
Mitchell Owen
M Owen
|
22 |
|
3
Cooper Connolly
C Connolly
|
19 |
|
4
Matthew Renshaw
M Renshaw
|
17 |
|
5
Tim David
T David
|
15 |
|
6
Max Bryant
M Bryant
|
14 |
|
7
Josh Brown
J Brown
|
12 |
|
8
Jake Fraser-McGurk
J Fraser-McGurk
|
12 |
Local knowledge
Rapid stats
- Sydney Thunder have won their last four BBL matches against the Melbourne Stars – a fifth consecutive win in this game would equal the Thunder's longest winning run against the Stars in the history of the competition (won five from December 2015 to December 2018).
- Melbourne Stars have won their last five BBL matches – the last time the Stars recorded a longer winning run in the competition was an eight-match span from December 2019 to January 2020.
- Melbourne Stars (15.1 per cent) and Sydney Thunder (14.7 per cent) have had batters play and miss at a higher percentage of their balls bowled than any other teams in BBL|14.
- David Warner has scored 24.8 per cent of the Sydney Thunder's runs when he's played in BBL|14, the best rate of any player for a team in the competition (minimum 3 innings).
- Glenn Maxwell (Melbourne Stars) has a batting strike rate of 194.1 from 153 balls faced in BBL|14, the best of any player in the competition (minimum 30 balls faced).
What's on the line?
The season! We've reached the knockout stage, and it's win or go home for both teams. The winner of this match will stay alive in BBL|14 where they will face either Hobart Hurricanes or Sydney Sixers on Friday for a spot in the season decider. The loser will be out of the running for the BBL|14 silverware and left to rue what could have been.
KFC BBL|14 finals schedule
Qualifier: Hobart Hurricanes v Sydney Sixers, Ninja Stadium (Tuesday, January 21, 7.30pm AEDT)
Knockout: Sydney Thunder v Melbourne Stars, ENGIE Stadum (Wednesday, January 22, 7.30pm AEDT)
Challenger: Loser of Qualifier v winner of Knockout (Friday, January 24, 7.15pm AEDT)
Final: Winner of Qualifier v winner of Challenger (Monday, January 27, 7.15pm AEDT)