Big Bash League 2020-21 News

Former New Zealand speedster and currently the head coach of the Sydney Thunder in the BBL, Shane Bond has made it clear that he won’t be renewing his contract with the Thunder as he want to spend more time with his family. A feared fast bowled during his prime, Bond has been in charge of the Sydney Thunder in the last three season and it was under his coaching that they finished third last season. "I loved my time with the Thunder but with so much uncertainty around travel restrictions these days and not knowing what that might look like I just didn't want to miss another summer at home," Bond was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au. "I haven't had one there for six years and my wife Tracey has had to carry the load. I want to be there again before I get to the point where my girls get to the end of high school. My son has some important cricket coming up too and I want to be there for that,” he further added. Having spent considerable amount of time with the Sydney Thunder in the last three years, Bond lamented the fact that he will be missing the boys at Thunder. He said that it will be one of the hardest thing for him to be away from the boys especially given the fact that it is such a great club to be part of. "I'll miss the boys at the Thunder, all the people from players to management. It's a great club to be a part of. I'll miss everybody. That will be the hardest thing,” Bond said. The former fast bowler was the former assistant coach of the Brisbane Heat before joining Sydney Thunder in the role of a head coach. He was also worked with his home team before apart from being also having coaching capacities with England and the Mumbai Indians in the Premier League. He is currently in India with the five-time IPL champions who are hoping to make a hat-trick of titles. While Bond has announced his decision to step down from the post and not renew his contract, the Sydney Thunder will also need a new captain after Callum Ferguson was removed as the leader after Thunder bowed out of the BBL earlier this year after losing in the knockout. "Shane has done a fantastic job over the last three years, ensuring the Thunder are in a good place for whoever takes on the role," Greg Mail, Cricket New South Wales' head of cricket, quipped. "He has been critical to the emergence of some brilliant young NSW based talent over the last two years whilst also bringing the best out of some of our established local and international players. We are a values-based organisation and although we would have loved to have seen Shane at the helm next summer, choosing to spend time with his family is a decision we respect,” he further added.

Australian batsman Josh Inglis, who impressed in the Big Bash League earlier this year has been signed up by the Leicestershire Foxes for England’s domestic tournament T20 Vitality Blast. Inglis played an instrumental role in helping his BBL side Perth Scorchers reaching the finals. He amassed 413 runs across 16 innings with an outstanding average-strike rate combination of 34.42 and 140 runs per 100 balls in the 10th edition of BBL. Inglis was born in Leeds in England and shared his excitement about getting an opportunity to play in England for the first time. "It will be my first time playing domestic cricket in England and I look forward to testing myself," he said. “Josh is a player who really fits the bill, a batsman who can slot into various positions, and somebody equally at home with the gloves or in the field. Foxes’ coach Paul Nixon outlined ‘traits’ such as ‘strokeplay, match-winning-ability and character’ behind the move to sign up the right-hander for the T20 competition. Nixon added that Inglis has shown his hunger for runs in domestic cricket by piling on the runs while for the Scorchers in the BBL, he has batted with ‘controlled aggression at the top of the order’ to set up games for his side. “He has showed his skill in making centuries batting at seven and eight in first-class cricket this year, and a player who looks equally comfortable batting higher up the order. In white ball cricket, Josh has batted at number four with a controlled aggression to take the game away from the opposition or get ahead in a run chase. “Josh also fits our mould in terms of being young, hungry and keen to keep developing his game. We have spoken to people who have worked with Josh and his strokeplay, match-winning ability and character are traits that have shone through.” The T20 Vitality blast will commence on June 9 at Canterbury while the Leicestershire Foxes will begin their campaign a day later at the Old Trafford in Manchester.

Powered by James Vince’s incredible 95 and a combined effort from the bowling lineup, Sydney Sixers defeated the Perth Scorchers by 27 runs at the Sydney Cricket Ground to win the 10th edition of the Big Bash League. With this win, they also equalled Scorchers’ record of winning three BBL trophies. Taking place under a circumspect threat of rain, the final turned out to be an incredible affair for the most part of it, even as the Scorchers lagged behind after the 15th over in their chase. Chasing a tough total of 189 on a wicket which was getting slower by every ball, the Scorchers got off to a good start with Cameron Bancroft going after the Sixers bowlers. Liam Livingstone, Bancroft’s partner though couldn’t get going initially as was expected from him after the last match heroics. As a result, Bancroft, 28, in an attempt to accelerate got out off a Jackson Bird delivery. Soon, another big man in the game, Colin Munro walked off without troubling the scorers much. Just when Livingstone was getting back to his usual self, the mounting run-rate pressure got the better of him, as he got out trying to hit Bird out of the park. A partnership was needed to solidify the chase but that didn’t come as even after playing more than 10 balls, the likes of Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh and Ashton Turner got out one after the another. Slower balls were the go-to delivery for the Sixers bowlers as they cracked the code that the pitch was supporting the slowness, after getting hit all over the park in the first five overs. By the time the target came down to 69 from the last time, most o the big hitters of the Scorchers side were back in the hut. Aaron Hardie tried his best to give the chase a chance as he hit 16 off a Carlos Brathwaite over. But that was the end of it as in the next three overs, Scorchers could only hit 19 runs. For Sixers, Ben Dwarshuis took three wickets while Bird, Sean Abbot and Dan Christian took two wickets each. Earlier in the day, Sixers lost the toss and were forced to bat first. They couldn’t get a great start as the player of the tournament Josh Philippe got run out for nine. It was then that James Vince decided to take control as he continued from he had left in the Qualifiers. Even as wickets kept falling at the other end, Vince didn’t slow down and it eventually caused his demise, being caught for 95 off Fawad Alam. After Vince, Christian and Jordan Silk hit a few lusty blows and with Brathwaite’s 10 runs from the last over, Sixers reached to 188 in their 20 overs. 188 after being 140-3 in 15 overs, was below expectations at that point of time, but in hindsight, the Sixers would take it happily and as would they take the losing the toss. James Vince was awarded the Man of the Match for his brilliant performance.

Australia batsman Callum Ferguson will not be a part of the Sydney Thunder side any more. The right-handed batsman who was also the stand-in captain revealed the news on social media. “Unfortunately I was notified yesterday that I will not be offered a contract with @thunderbbl for next season. Thank you to @mhussey393 & Lee Germon/Nick Cummins who brought me to the Club & Shane Bond who gave me the opportunity to Captain a great group of men. To the #ThunderNation, the club couldn’t be luckier to have your support, it was instrumental in helping us to consecutive finals runs. I have loved every minute on & off the field with this playing group, the last 4 years have been a great ride! I am now looking forward to what my playing future holds in the @bbl,” he wrote on social media. Ferguson scored 405 runs for Thunder in 15 innings at a strike rate of over 123 and an average of 31.15 including three half-centuries.

Will Sutherland of the Melbourne Renegades has been fined A$5000 for breaching the bio-bubble regulation so the ongoing Big bash League. Sutherland, who was recognised as the Australian Young Player of the Year by Cricket Australia awards just a day before, was charged with sanctions of playing golf and eating with people not part of the bio-bubble during the competition. Though Sutherland, 21 accepted the charges, he challenged the original sanction of a $10,000 fine with $4000 suspended in a court of commissioner Adrian Anderson and asked for a downgrade. His fine was subsequently downgraded to a $5000. This year’s BBL has done well to evade all challenges of the covid-19 and give the fans a safe and secure viewing as all the matches had crowd presence. Sutherland’ is the second fault by a bbl player after Heat skipper Chris Lynn and batsman Dan Lawrence were charged for clicking photo and shaking hands with a member of the audience early in the tournament. "The bio-security protocols have not only kept players, staff, officials and cricket fans safe but have also ensured it has been possible to travel across borders and take the BBL to seven different states and territories by reducing instances of close contact with COVID in the community," Alistair Dobson, the head of the Big Bash, said on the incident. The final of the BBL is to be played between Sydney Sixers and Perth Scorchers at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground on 06th February.

The Perth Scorchers have literally had a dream run-up to the final, as they, after not being able to win even a single of their first four games, went on to win eight out of their next nine to cement their place in the BBL Finals. The only team that they were not being able to win in their nine-game run was the Sixers only and again they lost to the Sixers in the Qualifier as well. However, they fought back and won the Challenger against an in-form Heat comprehensively to put the pressure back on the Sixers as it is the Sixers who are favourites, playing at their home ground, the SCG. The Sydney team have had a good time of their winning nine out of their 14 league games and topping the league table before beating Scorchers in the Qualifier. Thus, the final is going to be a real clash of the titans in all sense. Dynamic Perth batting, a cause of concern for Sixers The one thing that Perth did for their revival in the tournament was the spike in their bowling form. Jhye Richardson was in particular the leader of the pack and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he bowled Perth back into the tournament. Similarly, there was also a slow revival in the batting fortunes of the Scorchers with the veterans, Colin Munro and Josh Inglis leading the charge. So far Munro has scored 441 runs while 391 runs have been scored by Inglis and it is the solid background and backup that these guys have that has given the freedom to the likes of Liam Livingstone, Mitchell Marsh, and Jason Roy to go for the kill right from the word go. Perth would like the two to continue being reliable. And at the same time, the team would also want their three quicks in Richardson, Jason Behrendorff, and Andrew Tye to go on as they have been doing in the tournament so far. If all these things fall in place, Perth is surely in with a good chance. Josh Philippe and Ben Dwarshuis: Two men who matter the most for Sixers In this entire campaign, the two players that have performed consistently for the Sixers are Josh Philippe with the bat and Ben Dwarshuis with the ball. The two have been able to guide the Sixers ship towards the shore more often than not. While Philippe has 499 runs from 15 innings, Dwarshuis has 21 wickets in this year’s BBL so far. Philippe is going to be the anchor while Sixers bat and then the likes of Dan Christin, James Vince, and Moises Henriques can then free their arms to get the desired results while batting. Similarly, with Steve O’Keefe, Carlos Brathwaite, and Jackson Bird in the ranks, Dwarshuis’ role is going to be that of the key wicket-taker, and if he fulfills that the rest of the players can contribute as well. Sixers vs Scorchers: Match Details Match: Final Date and Time: 06th Feb, 02:10 pm IST, 07:40 pm Local, 08:40 am GMT Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Broadcast and Live Stream: Sony SIX and Sony LIV Pitch Report This is going to be the first game at the SCG in this year’s BBL. The only match played at the SCG was the Test between Australia and India which ended in a draw. Usually a bit on the slower side, the SCG would hopefully have a bit more spike in the wicket to offer some assistance to pacers and make sure that the ball comes on to the bat real nice. As previous encounters are concerned any total between 160-185 is going to be challenging on this wicket. Weather and Bat Flip The rain has been predicted in the evening of the 06th in Sydney. With 94% cloud cover and rain in the offing, any skipper winning the bat flip would look to bowl first keeping Duckworth-Lewis in mind. Although a reserve day has been announced by CA if the match gets washed away on Saturday, even after that the choice to bowl first is an obvious one. Sixers Strongest XI Josh Philippe (wk), James Vince, Daniel Hughes, Moises Henriques (c), Jordan Silk, Daniel Christian, Carlos Brathwaite, Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Steve OKeefe, Jackson Bird Scorchers Strongest XI Liam Livingstone, Cameron Bancroft, Colin Munro, Josh Inglis (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Ashton Turner (c), Aaron Hardie, Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff, Fawad Ahmed