Sydney Sixers

Sydney Sixers

Captain:	Moises Henriques
Coach:	Greg Shipperd
Colours:	"Magenta"
Founded:	2011
Home ground:	Sydney Cricket Ground
Capacity:	48,000
BBL wins:	1 (2012)
CLT20 wins:	1 (2012)
Official website:	sydneysixers.com.au
2015–16 Sydney Sixers season

The Sydney Sixers are an Australian professional men's cricket team, competing in Australia's domestic Twenty20 cricket competition, the Big Bash League (BBL).^[1] Along with the Sydney Thunder, the Sixers are the successors of the New South Wales Blues who played in the now-defunct KFC Twenty20 Big Bash. The Sixers play at Sydney Cricket Ground in the south-eastern area of the inner city while the Thunder play out of Spotless Stadium further west. The inaugural coach was Trevor Bayliss^[2] and Dominic Remond is the General Manager.^[3] The Sixers' inaugural captain is Australian wicket-keeper Brad Haddin. Both Steve Smith and Moises Henriques have also spent time captaining the team.

Competing in the inaugural Big Bash League, the Sydney Sixers went on to win the tournament. After finishing third in the regular season games, the Sixers defeated the Hobart Hurricanes in the semi-final at Bellerive Oval. This facilitated a show-down with the Perth Scorchers in the final. They defeated the Scorchers on 28 January 2012, at the WACA Ground, thus becoming the inaugural champions of the Big Bash League.^[4]

As a result of their successful Big Bash League grand final win, the Sixers competed for the first time in the Champions League Twenty20 tournament. The tournament was held in October 2012 in South Africa. Again, the Sixers made history by winning this tournament on their first attempt. The Sixers were top of their group going into the finals of the tournament. They went on to defeat the Nashua Titans in the semi-finals and then the Highveld Lions in the final of the tournament to be crowned champions.

History

Foundation

The Sydney Sixers were created when the decision was made to move away from state representative teams to city-based teams for the domestic Twenty20 competition. It is believed that this move was to align its structure with that of India and South Africa, where their domestic teams are based around cities. This was an important factor for the ongoing Champions League Twenty20 tournament, where those three nations were founding members. It was decided that there would be two teams from Sydney, two teams from Melbourne, and one from each other capital city for an eight team competition. The names Sixers (and Thunder for cross-city rivals) were decided upon by Cricket NSW. Other names considered for the two teams were Rocks and Edge.^[5]

2011–2012: BBL01

Regular Season

The Sydney Sixers were chosen to host the first game of the new and exciting format of the BBL. The game was played on December 16, 2011 at the historical Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) against the Brisbane Heat. The Sixers lost the toss and restricted the Heat to 8/139 from their allotted 20 overs. Stuart MacGill showed his class, coming out of retirement for this tournament, to end with the best figures from a Sixers bowler with 2/21. The Sixers easily chased down the runs with 8 balls to spare with skipper and opening batsmen Brad Haddin earning the Player of the Match award. The Sixers then traveled down to Hobart and were dominated by the Hurricanes in a 42-run defeat. Phil Jaques and Travis Birt amassing a 107 wicket partnership, with Birt the Player of the Match.^[6] Upon returning home, a standout performance with the bat from West Indian import Dwayne Bravo assured the win for the Sixers with 51 runs as the Melbourne Stars fell 2 runs short in an exciting run chase. The Sixers then lost on the road to the Melbourne Renegades before picking up away wins against Sydney Thunder and Adelaide Strikers. The Sixers then battled-out a hard fought win against the Perth Scorchers at home. After losing a couple of early wickets, Steve Smith smacked a quickfire 51 before the Sixers lost 5/8 in the final two overs to be bowled out for 176. In the end this was enough as the Scorchers failed to achieve the target by one run. The stunning spell of swing by Mitchell Starc earned him the Player of the Match.^[7][8]

Finals Series

In-form after three consecutive wins to close out the regular season, the Sixers went on to win against the Hurricanes in Hobart. Sydney were able to put on a par-score after winning the toss (6/153, Nic Maddinson - 68 runs). A good spell of bowling from Brett Lee (2/22) and Ian Moran at the death ensured the Sixers would reach the final. The Sixers went on to win the inaugural 2011–12 Big Bash League (BBL), defeating the Perth Scorchers at the WACA Ground. Again Lee (2/21) lead the Sixers attack as they were able to restrict Perth to 8/156. Moises Henriques guided the innings, scoring 70 runs to make light work of the run-chase. The Sixers winning with 7 balls to spare.^[9]

2012–2013: BBL02

2012 Champions League Twenty20

By winning the inaugural 2011–12 Big Bash League, the Sixers earned the right to compete in the 2012 Champions League Twenty20 tournament. The Sixers were drawn into Group B along with the Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians (India - Indian Premier League), Yorkshire (England - Twenty20 Cup) and Highveld Lions. The Sixers cruised through the Group Stage without too many difficulties. The batters blasted the Super Kings out of the park scoring 185/5 with the bowlers backing them up to win by 12 runs. Mitchell Starc tore through Yorkshire (96/9) to which the Sixers surpassed in 8.5 overs. The Sixers were able to overcome the Lions humble score (137/9) with and over to spare before making it four-from-four with an easy 12-run win over the Indians.

Their semi-final match against the Titans proved much more challenging. The Titans amassed a modest 163/5 with the Sixers needing all twenty to overs to secure the win. On the final delivery, Pat Cummins missed the ball entirely but the batters were able to scramble home for a bye despite Cummins colliding with the bowler.^[10] The Final however, was in stark contrast. The Sixers attack, led by Josh Hazlewood bundled out the Highveld Lions for a poultry 121 runs. They only needed 12.3 to blast home the runs with Michael Lumb thumping an unbeaten 82 runs.

Regular Season

The Sixers season ended in bitter disappointment, winning only two games and coming second last on the ladder. Needless-to-say, they did not qualify for the finals series.

2013–2014: BBL03

In what was effectively a very good regular season (only losing one of eight games) and coming second on the ladder the Sixers were left to rue what might have been as they were once again beaten by the Perth Scorchers in the semi-finals. In a rain-effected match, the Sixers target was reduced to 54 in 5 overs and the seemingly impossible target was realised when they fell short at 6/48.

2014–2015: BBL04

The Sixers put their BBL03 campaign behind them, signing some new faces whilst retaining the more experienced core group of players. The Sixers looked very good throughout the entire regular season winning five games, losing two games (to Perth Scorchers and Adelaide Strikers) in regular time and losing an absolutely enthralling Super Over to the Melbourne Stars.

Coming up against the Strikers in Adelaide (to whom they had already lost to in the season) they were able to get the job done easily in the end. Some big hitting (Nic Maddinson – 85 runs) set up a 4/181 scoreline before the bowlers were able to rip through the Strikers batting order, all-out for 94 runs. With a very poor record against the Perth Scorchers (aside from the BBL01 Big Final victory), the Sixers opened proceedings at Manuka Oval in Canberra for the 4th edition of the "Big Final". Some early wickets made it hard going for the Sixers with skipper Moises Henriques scoring a well-made 77 (before being run-out on the final delivery). The Scorchers steadily continued to pile on the runs with wickets in hand. Needing 8 runs off the final over, Brett Lee put in arguably his best Twenty20 performance in his final game of professional cricket. His first ball was expertly paddled for runs before Lee began to sting the opposition. With three balls remaining the Scorchers were destined to win with one needed. However, Lee wouldn't go away taking back-to-back wickets. Still requiring one more run, with Lee on a hat-trick, Yasir Arafat was able to flick the ball off his pads and the batsmen were able to scamper through for a single after the throw to the bowler's end was too hard for Henriques to catch and effect the run-out which would have brought the game to a Super Over.^[11]

Colours

The Sixers play in a magenta strip. While a spokesperson from Cricket NSW alluded that the team's colours may have some connection with the "Pink dollar" and Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, pink was ultimately chosen for reasons more related to McGrath Foundation, and to create a "really rock star, high-profile cricket team".^[5] Orange and yellow had also been considered for the Sixers and cross-town rivals, Sydney Thunder, but Cricket NSW believed these colours were too similar to that of the Western Australian cricket team, the Wests Tigers (NRL) and the GWS Giants (AFL). Magenta, therefore, gave a unique identity for the team and attempted to create a reflection of the competition which was "new and vibrant."^[5]

Home Ground

The Sydney Sixers play out of the Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney. The stadium will have a capacity of 48,000 when the completion of redevelopments were finished in 2014 in time for The Ashes series between Australia and England. Apart of the makeover includes new state-of-art facilities and grandstand as well as one of the biggest video screens in the southern hemisphere.^[12] The renovation is set to cost US$191 million.^[13]

Rivalries

• The Sydney Derby – When the league began in 2011, Cricket Australia decided they would place two teams in Sydney. With the core group of players for both sides coming from the New South Wales cricket team, this rivalry automatically becomes widely anticipated in Sydney. After four seasons of the BBL the Sydney Sixers finally lost to the Sydney Thunder in the opening match of the fifth series, breaking the seven consecutive wins the Sixers had banked up from previous years.^[14]
• with Perth Scorchers – Both teams have been competitive through the years with the Scorchers generally having the edge over the Sixers in some tight finishes. In BBL01 the Sixers gained bragging rights by securing the title in Perth. The Scorchers were able to enact revenge in BBL04 winning The Championship on the final ball. In BBL03 Perth recorded a fantastic win at the SCG in a Super Over when scores were level at the completion of 20 overs for each side. In 7 games, Sydney has won twice, Perth has won 4 times and there has been 1 tie (+ Perth win).

Players

Current squad

Players with international caps are listed in bold.

S/N	Name	Nat.	Date of birth (age)	Batting style	Bowling style	Notes
Batsmen
15	Daniel Hughes		(1989-02-16) 16 February 1989	Left-handed	Right arm medium
53	Nic Maddinson		(1991-12-21) 21 December 1991	Left-handed	Left arm orthodox
20	Jason Roy		(1990-07-21) 21 July 1990	Right-handed	–	Visa contract
14	Jordan Silk		(1992-04-13) 13 April 1992	Right-handed	–
49	Steve Smith		(1989-06-02) 2 June 1989	Right-handed	Right-arm leg break
All-rounders
77	Sean Abbott		(1992-02-29) 29 February 1992	Right-handed	Right arm fast medium
22	Johan Botha		(1982-05-02) 2 May 1982	Right-handed	Right arm off spin
23	Ben Dwarshuis		(1994-06-23) 23 June 1994	Left-handed	Left arm fast medium
21	Moises Henriques		(1987-02-01) 1 February 1987	Right-handed	Right arm fast medium	Captain
72	Stephen O'Keefe		(1984-12-09) 9 December 1984	Right-handed	Left arm orthodox
Wicket-keepers
-	Sam Billings		(1991-06-15) 15 June 1991	Right-handed	–	Visa contract
1	Ryan Carters		(1990-07-25) 25 July 1990	Right-handed	–
24	Brad Haddin		(1977-10-23) 23 October 1977	Right-handed	–
Pace bowlers
33	Jackson Bird		(1986-12-11) 11 December 1986	Right-handed	Right arm fast medium
4	Doug Bollinger		(1981-07-24) 24 July 1981	Left-handed	Left arm fast medium
8	Josh Hazlewood		(1991-01-08) 8 January 1991	Left-handed	Right arm fast medium
15	Joe Mennie		(1988-12-24) 24 December 1988	Right-handed	Right arm fast medium
56	Mitchell Starc		(1990-01-30) 30 January 1990	Left-handed	Left-arm fast
Spin bowlers
67	Nathan Lyon		(1987-11-20) 20 November 1987	Right-handed	Right arm off spin

Captains

Correct as at 4 February 2015^[15]
Listed in order of appearance as captain

	Name	Period	Matches	Won	Lost	Tied	NR	%
1	Brad Haddin	2011-2013	15	11	4	0	0	73.33
2	Steve Smith	2011-2014	11	8	2	1	0	77.27
3	Moises Henriques	2013-2015	14	8	5	1	0	60.71
4	Marcus North	2014	1	0	1	0	0	0.00
5	Nic Maddinson	2015	1	1	0	0	0	100.00

Year by year history

Season	Champions League	Big Bash League
	Qld	Pld	Won	Loss	NR	Group Position	Finals Place	Pld	Won	Loss	NR	League Position	Finals Place
2011–12	Did Not Qualify							7 (+2)	5 (+2)	2 (+0)	0 (+0)	3rd	Champions
2012–13	Yes	4 (+2)	4 (+2)	0 (+0)	0 (+0)	1st	Champions	8	3	5	0	7th	DNQ
2013–14	Did Not Qualify							8 (+1)	6 (+0)	2 (+1)	0 (+0)	2nd	Semi Finals
2014–15	Did Not Qualify							8 (+2)	5 (+1)	3 (+1)	0 (+0)	4th	Runners Up

Records

Team Records

Result summary v. Opponent

Domestic teams

Opposition	Pld	W	L	T	T+W	T+L	NR	%
Adelaide Strikers	6	3	3	0	0	0	0	50.00
Brisbane Heat	5	4	1	0	0	0	0	80.00
Hobart Hurricanes	6	4	2	0	0	0	0	66.67
Melbourne Renegades	5	3	2	0	0	0	0	60.00
Melbourne Stars	5	1	3	1	0	1	0	30.00
Perth Scorchers	8	2	5	0	0	1	0	31.25
Sydney Thunder	8	7	1	0	0	0	0	87.50

International teams

Opposition	Pld	W	L	T	T+W	T+L	NR	%
Chennai Super Kings	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	100.00
Highveld Lions	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	100.00
Mumbai Indians	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	100.00
Titans	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	100.00
Yorkshire Carnegie	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	100.00

^[16]

Highest totals

Rank	Score	Overs	RR	Inns	Opposition	Ground	Tournament	Date
1	185/5	20.0	9.25	1st	Chennai Super Kings	New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg	2012 CLT20 Group Stage	14 Oct 2012	[17]
2	181/4	20.0	9.05	1st	Adelaide Strikers	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide	BBL04 Semi-final	24 Jan 2015	[18]
3	180/7	20.0	9.00	1st	Sydney Thunder	Stadium Australia, Sydney	BBL04 Rounds	27 Dec 2014	[19]
4	179/6	20.0	8.95	1st	Hobart Hurricanes	SCG, Sydney	BBL03 Rounds	15 Jan 2014	[20]
5	176	20.0	8.80	1st	Perth Scorchers	SCG, Sydney	BBL01 Rounds	18 Jan 2012	[21]
6	167/4	18.2	9.10	2nd	Sydney Thunder	SCG, Sydney	BBL03 Rounds	21 Dec 2013	[22]
7	166/9	20.0	8.30	1st	Melbourne Stars	SCG, Sydney	BBL01 Rounds	27 Dec 2011	[23]
8	164/8	20.0	8.20	2nd	Titans	SuperSport Park, Centurion	2012 CLT20 Semi-final	26 Oct 2012	[24]
9	161/6	20.0	8.05	1st	Melbourne Renegades	Docklands Stadium, Melbourne	BBL01 Rounds	2 Jan 2012	[25]
10	159	19.4	8.08	2nd	Adelaide Strikers	SCG, Sydney	BBL04 Rounds	14 Jan 2015	[26]

Lowest Totals

Rank	Score	Overs	RR	Inns	Opposition	Ground	Tournament	Date
1	99	17.3	5.65	2nd	Perth Scorchers	SCG, Sydney	BBL04 Rounds	29 Dec 2014	[27]
2	113/9	20.0	5.65	1st	Perth Scorchers	SCG, Sydney	BBL02 Rounds	16 Dec 2012	[28]
3	123/9	20.0	6.15	2nd	Melbourne Stars	SCG, Sydney	BBL03 Rounds	29 Dec 2013	[29]
4	127/9	20.0	6.35	2nd	Hobart Hurricanes	Bellerive Oval, Hobart	BBL01 Rounds	21 Dec 2011	[30]
5	135/6	20.0	6.75	1st	Adelaide Strikers	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide	BBL02 Rounds	23 Dec 2012	[31]
6	136/7	20.0	6.80	1st	Mumbai Indians	Kingsmead, Durban	2012 CLT20 Group Stage	22 Oct 2012	[32]
7	140/8	20.0	7.00	1st	Brisbane Heat	The Gabba, Brisbane	BBL03 Rounds	2 Jan 2014	[33]
8	147/5	20.0	7.35	1st	Perth Scorchers	Manuka Oval, Canberra	BBL04 Final	28 Jan 2015	[34]
9	149	20.0	7.45	2nd	Melbourne Renegades	SCG, Sydney	BBL02 Rounds	9 Jan 2013	[35]
10	150/6	20.0	7.50	1st	Melbourne Stars	MCG, Melbourne	BBL04 Rounds	5 Jan 2015	[36]

Batting records

Most runs

Batsman	Years	Mat	Inns	Runs
Michael Lumb	2011-current	35	35	904
Nic Maddinson	2011-current	37	36	901
Moises Henriques	2011-current	40	38	844
Steve Smith	2011-2014	26	24	594
Brad Haddin	2011-2013	15	15	395

^[37]

High scores

Batsman	Runs	BF	Opponent	Ground	Tournament	Date
Nic Maddinson	85	48	Adelaide Strikers	Adelaide	BBL04 Semi-final	24 Jan 2015	[18]
Nic Maddinson	84*	54	Melbourne Renegades	SCG, Sydney	BBL04 Rounds	19 Dec 2014	[38]
Michael Lumb	82*	42	Highveld Lions	Johannesburg	2012 CLT20 Final	28 Oct 2012	[39]
Michael Lumb	80	61	Melbourne Stars	MCG, Melbourne	BBL04 Rounds	5 Jan 2015	[36]
Moises Henriques	77	57	Perth Scorchers	Canberra	BBL04 Final	28 Jan 2015	[34]

Highest Averages

Minimum 10 innings

Batsman	Years	Mat	Inns	Ave
Jordan Silk	2013-current	17	15	34.90
Steve Smith	2011-2014	26	24	31.26
Michael Lumb	2011-current	35	35	28.25
Brad Haddin	2011-2013	15	15	28.21
Nic Maddinson	2011-current	37	36	27.30

^[40]

Highest strike rates

Minimum 100 balls faced

Batsman	Years	SR	Runs	BF
Nic Maddinson	2011-current	131.91	901	683
Michael Lumb	2011-current	129.69	904	697
Ben Rohrer	2011-2012	129.24	137	106
Moises Henriques	2011-current	124.30	844	679
Jordan Silk	2013-current	124.19	349	281

^[41]

Most Fifties

Batsman	Years	Mat	Inns	50+
Michael Lumb	2011-current	35	35	5
Nic Maddinson	2011-current	37	36	5
Steve Smith	2011-2014	26	24	4
Moises Henriques	2011-current	40	38	3
Brad Haddin	2011-2013	15	15	2
Jordan Silk	2013-current	17	15	2

^[42]

Most sixes

Batsman	Years	Mat	Inns	6s
Nic Maddinson	2011-current	37	36	34
Michael Lumb	2011-current	35	35	30
Moises Henriques	2011-current	40	38	23
Brad Haddin	2011-2013	15	15	17
Steve Smith	2011-2014	26	24	11

Bowling Records

Most Wickets

Bowler	Seasons	Mat	Inns	Wickets
Brett Lee	2011-2015	36	36	35
Mitchell Starc	2011-current	16	16	34
Josh Hazlewood	2011-current	20	20	28
Moises Henriques	2011-current	40	31	21
Stephen O'Keefe	2011-current	32	30	16

Best Bowling Figures

Bowler	Ovr	BBI	Opposition	Ground	Tournament	Date
Brett Lee	4.0	4/28	Perth Scorchers	SCG, Sydney	BBL03	10 Jan 2014	[43]
Nathan Lyon	4.0	5/23	Hobart Hurricanes	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	BBL05	20 Dec 2015	[44]
Josh Hazlewood	4.0	3/16	Adelaide Strikers	Adelaide Oval	BBL03	5 Jan 2014	[45]
Mitchell Starc	2.3	3/17	Sydney Thunder	Stadium Australia, Sydney	BBL01	8 Jan 2012	[46]
Mitchell Starc	4.0	3/19	Highveld Lions	Newlands, Cape Town	2012 CLT20	18 Oct 2012	[47]
Nathan Lyon	4.0	3/19	Sydney Thunder	SCG, Sydney	BBL04	22 Jan 2015	[48]

Partnerships

Highest partnerships by wicket

Wicket	Runs	Partners	Opposition	Ground	Date
1st	124*	MJ Lumb & BJ Haddin	Highveld Lions	New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg	28 Oct 2012	[49]
2nd	90	NJ Maddinson & MC Henriques	Melbourne Renegades	SCG, Sydney	19 Dec 2014	[50]
3rd	101	MJ Lumb & MC Henriques	Melbourne Renegades	Etihad Stadium, Melbourne	23 Dec 2015	[51]
4th	69	MJ Lumb & JC Silk	Melbourne Stars	MCG, Melbourne	5 Jan 2015	[52]
5th	98	MC Henriques & RGL Carters	Perth Scorchers	Manuka Oval, Canberra	28 Jan 2015	[53]
6th	71*	Brad Haddin & Johan Botha	Adelaide Strikers	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide	31 Dec 2015	[54]
7th	45	BJ Rohrer & Dominic Thornely	Melbourne Stars	SCG, Sydney	27 Dec 2011	[55]
8th	26	BJ Rohrer & PJ Cummins	Titans	SuperSport Park, Centurion	26 Oct 2012	[56]
9th	48	JC Silk & NM Lyon	Adelaide Strikers	SCG, Sydney	14 Jan 2015	[57]
10th	21*	B Lee & LW Feldman	Perth Scorchers	SCG, Sydney	16 Dec 2012	[58]

^[59]

Honours

Domestic

• Big Bash League:
  • Champions (1): 2011–12
    • Runners-Up (1): 2013–14
    • Minor Premiers (0):
  • Finals Series Appearances (3): 2011–12, 2013–14, 2014–15
    • Wooden Spoons (1): 2015–16

International

• Champions League Twenty20:
  • Champions (1): 2012
  • Appearances (1): 2012

Imported Players

• Dwayne Bravo - West Indies (2011)
• Michael Lumb - England (2011-2015)
• Jeevan Mendis - Sri Lanka (2012)
• Sunil Narine - West Indies (2012)
• Ravi Bopara - England (2013)
• Chris Tremlett - England (2013)
• Dwayne Smith - West Indies (2014)
• Johan Botha - South Africa (2015)

See also

• New South Wales Cricket Association
• New South Wales Blues

References

External links

• Sydney Sixers on Facebook
• Sydney Sixers on Twitter