Sydney Sixers Team Preview, Squad and Fantasy Cheat Sheet for Big Bash League 2020-21 season
A profound look into the signings, team news and players availability of the Sydney Sixers for the 2020 Big Bash League along with a fantasy cheat sheet providing the fantasy potential of the Sydney Sixers players.
Coach: G Shipperd
Captain: M Henriques
BBL 09 Finish: Champions
Sydney Sixers Squad for BBL 10
Sydney Sixers (BBL 10) – Off-Season Signings/Trades:
Sydney Sixers come into this season as the defending champions after they beat the Melbourne Stars by a fine margin of 12 runs in a rain-affected final at the Sydney Cricket Ground, SCG last year. Coming into this season they’ve let go of Josh Hazlewood and Steve Smith, two Australian Test regulars who are sure to miss the majority of the season. The major blow for the franchise this season came in the form of the pulling out of Tom Curran, their star all-rounder due to a bio bubble fatigue.
Also Read: Adelaide Strikers: BBL 10 fantasy team preview
He has been the backbone of the Sixers side for the last couple of years and it remains to be seen how they’ll cope with his loss. Some of the other major inclusions are the ex-Renegades Dan Christian who will provide the much-needed batting firepower down the order and the two West Indian all-rounders Carlos Brathwaite and Jason Holder. They’ve also acquired the services of M Starc who’ll be the trump card for the team during the business end of the tournament.
Sydney Sixers (BBL 10) – Talking Points:
Can Sydney Sixers fill a Tom Curran sized hole in their squad?
Tom Curran was one of the key reasons for Sydney Sixers title victory last year contributing consistently with both the bat and ball. In the last couple of seasons he’s played for Sixers, he managed to pick 42 wickets at an economy rate of 8.32 and scored 318 runs at a healthy strike-rate of 146.54. While Sydney Sixers have signed two all-rounders in Daniel Christian and Carlos Brathwaite both of them being available for the entire tournament, it is still a tough ask to replicate those extraordinary numbers.
The curious case of J Edwards
Jack Edwards is a tall, up and coming Australian batsman who possesses the real gift of timing. S Warne has compared his batting style with the skillful Indian wicket-keeper batsman S Samson and he has been part of the Sixers set-up for the last couple of years but hasn’t been able to establish himself in the squad. While he remained low-key in the build-up to the tournament, the Sixers trial matches provided him with an opportunity to open the innings which he grabbed with both hands by scoring back-to-back sixties.
Also Read: Melbourne Renegades – BBL 10 Team Preview
With Philippe and D Hughes slotted to open the innings and J Vince likely to come at 3, there remain zero vacancies at the top of the order and it remains to be seen how the Sixers management will utilize the promising youngster.
Nice to welcome back some familiar faces with our international stars @TridentSportsX and @vincey14 linking up with the squad for today’s trial against @HurricanesBBL
Wrap-up here
https://t.co/WtYlFwqL2C#smashemsixers #bbl10 pic.twitter.com/17arsIZ4MW
— Sydney Sixers (@SixersBBL) December 8, 2020
Sydney Sixers (BBL 10) – Fantasy Cheat Sheet
Cash Cows:
J Philippe – With an unorthodox batting style coupled with a unique bat-swing, Philippe has been impressive for the Sixers batting at different positions for them in the last couple of seasons. He’s one of Australia’s best upcoming players of spin and his wicket-keeping skills add to his value.
The sky is the limit for Josh Philippe and the @sixersBBL in #BBL10
#SixersTakeover #smashemsixers pic.twitter.com/G1LNL3Sy5C
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) December 6, 2020
Value for Money Picks –
D Christian – The serial T20 championship winner is coming off a successful T20 Blast season captaining the title-winners Nottinghamshire. He displayed good form with both bat and ball in the T20 Blast and he cracked a hundred in the trial games for the Sixers. The ex-Renegade is available all throughout the tournament for the Sixers.
M Henriques – The Sixers captain will join the squad from the 3rd game due to the Australia A commitments and will slot in nicely at the No.4 spot. He was handy with both the bat and ball in the Indian limited-overs series.
D Hughes – He occupies the third place in the all-time highest run-scorers list for the Sixers and even though he had a middling season last year with 267 runs at an average of 20.54 from 15 games and he is still their first choice opener. His recent form looks good too after he cracked a 19 ball 60 in one of Sixers trial games.
B Dwarshuis – The left-arm seamer bowls both in the Powerplay and the death and has enjoyed two good back-to-back seasons picking 16 wickets each in 2018 and 2019. While Starc’s availability post the test series might affect his game-time, he’s still worth his money.
Risky Ones:
J Vince – He hasn’t really set the BBL stages on fire with a couple of mixed seasons for the Sixers in 2018 and 2019. His recent form in both the T20 Blast and the T20 Internationals saw him getting dropped from the England white-ball squad. Even though he’s a sure shot starter for the Sixers in all the games, he’s still a risky pick.
J Silk – Silk usually slots in the middle-order for the Sixers, but with the presence of two power-hitters in Christian and Brathwaite and the emergence of the young J Edwards will likely see him get limited opportunities with the bat.
Differential Picks–
J Edwards – As mentioned earlier, he’s definitely in the Sixers scheme of things this season.
C Brathwaite – The absence of T Curran will work in his favour providing him with more game-time. Even though his recent form is dire, he’s available all through the season to compensate for it.
Bargain Buys–
S O’Keefe and L Pope – Both of them will be the first-choice spinners for the Sixers in the absence of N Lyon and both have enjoyed some success in the previous seasons. L Pope is the most likely one to be dropped if and when N Lyon arrives.
J Bird – He will partner Dwarshuis with the new-ball once he’s available after his Australia A commitments. He seems to have sustained a calf injury during the Australia A vs India A game and the recovery time is still unknown.
S Abbott, M Starc, N Lyon and J Holder – All of these four will be available only for a limited time with S Abbott likely to enjoy the most game-time out of the four and J Holder the least with just 3 games.
Cheapies –
The likes of G Sandhu and B Manenti will surely get their chances at some point in the tournament and are easier to acquire due to their credentials.