Aus T20 League 2023-2024

Match 39: SCO vs SIX

Preview 

Perth Scorchers (SCO) and Sydney Sixers (SIX) will lock horns in match 39 of the ongoing edition of the Australian T20 League 2023-2024 at the iconic Perth Stadium, Perth on January 16, Tuesday. Both teams have confirmed their spots in the qualifiers, but the job is far from done. An opportunity for a second-place finish is up for the taking. 

This should be a cracking contest for two reasons. One, both sides are going to take the field against one another for the very first time this season. And two, a second-place finish is guaranteed for the winning side, and both the teams will be eager to have a go at each other knowing that the crucial win will give them another shot at making through to the grand finale. 

SCO booked their place for the knockout stages of the competition, defeating Brisbane Heat (HEA) at home. In doing so, they made sure HEA couldn’t go into the next round unscathed. HEA will now face a stern test in the form of SIX, who are in good form at the moment. 

With the second place up for grabs, SCO are wary of the threat ahead. However, they will struggle to assemble their strongest playing XI as they will be without the services of  veteran pace bowler Jhye Richardson and opening batter Zak Crawley. They have already pressed the panic button by signing opener Marcus Harris as a local replacement player in an attempt to reinforce their batting ranks, but they know they will have to find the balance with whatever resources they have at their disposal. 

In the bowling department they will rely on the pace quartet of Andrew Tye, Lance Morris, Aaron Hardie and Jason Beherendoff. While Behrendorff and Morris will be expected to strike with the new ball, Tye and Hardie will have the job of keeping the SIX batters at bay during the middle overs.      

SIX advancing through to playoffs is a mere formality in the Australia T20 League. As one of the most consistent sides in the history of the tournament, they’ve made it a habit to finish inside the top half of the points table. The last time they failed to make it through the final four was back in the 2017-18 season, which was almost six seasons ago. In fact, they finished outside the top two in the last four seasons going back to 2018-19. Now, that’s an incredible feat. 

They will want to live up to their name and end this year’s group stages with a commanding win, making it five seasons on the bounce where they’ve finished in the top two. Playing against SCO in their own backyard is intimidating, but they’ll be up for the task ahead. They were relentless against the Melbourne Stars (STA) two games ago, and mustered to somehow fetch a win against an unsettled Sydney Thunder (THU) side which looked clueless against spinner Steve O’Keefe who claimed three crucial scalps to set up a 19 run win. 

With Steve Smith gone, they will now send Josh Phillipe to open the innings with James Vince, exposing the middle order which has rarely shown promise this season. Moises Henriques, in particular, has been disappointing, managing to score only 126 runs from 8 innings. SIX will desperately want their skipper to come good with bat in hand on Tuesday. 

Match Details

Match: SCO vs SIX, 39th Match, Aus T20 League 2023-24

Date: Tuesday, January 16, 2024

Time: 2:10 PM

Venue: Perth Stadium, Perth

Pitch and Weather Report

The match will be played at the Optus Stadium, Perth, where the home side has a 100% win record, winning 4 out of 4. They made light work of the Hobart Hurricanes (HUR) and Adelaide Strikers (STR), and miraculously turned things around against the Melbourne Renegades (REN).  The conditions have been favourable to batters this season. The margin of error for bowlers is very little at this venue. 

A sunny day with no rain is the forecast for the day. So, expect a full match free from any rain interruptions.

 SCO vs SIX Squads

SCO: Stephen Eskinazi, Sam Whiteman, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis, Laurie Evans, Cooper Connolly, Nick Hobson, Ashton Agar, Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff, Lance Morris, Sam Fanning, Cameron Gannon, Liam Haskett, Matthew Kelly, Hamish McKenzie, Marcus Harris

SIX: Josh Philippe, James Vince, Moises Henriques, Jordan Silk, Jack Edwards, Hayden Kerr, Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Todd Murphy, Steve OKeefe, Jackson Bird, Joel Davies, Daniel Hughes, Kurtis Patterson, Mitchell Perry

SCO vs SIX Probable Playing XIs

SCO: Sam Whiteman, Aaron Hardie (c), Josh Inglis (wk), Laurie Evans, Stephen Eskinazi, Cooper Connolly, Nick Hobson, Ashton Agar, Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff, Lance Morris.

SIX: Josh Philippe(wk), James Vince, Daniel Hughes, Moises Henriques (c), Jordan Silk, Jack Edwards, Hayden Kerr, Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Todd Murphy, Steve O' Keefe.

Match Prediction

This is the battle for bragging rights. Off late, hosts have enjoyed playing against the men in pink, dominating both home and away games. Thus, we expect the five time champions to once again come on top and emerge victorious. 

Suggested Playing XI Real11 Fantasy Cricket



Team 1

Team 2