With Tom Curran and Chris Jordan part of the attack they are possibly stronger than last season
Squad
Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird, Dan Christian, Tom Curran (England), Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Mickey Edwards, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Chris Jordan (England) Hayden Kerr, Nathan Lyon, Ben Manenti, Lawrence Neil-Smith (replacement), Josh Philippe, Lloyd Pope, Jordan Silk, James Vince (England), Steve O’Keefe, Nick Winter (replacement)
In Mickey Edwards, Chris Jordan, Lawrence Neil-Smith, Nick Winter,
Out Carlos Brathwaite, Justin Avendano, Jake Ball, Jason Holder
Champions for the second season running, they made a triumphant return home to the SCG for the only time in the season to overturn Perth Scorchers in the final. It was an impressive campaign made more so by their time on the road. They lost their opening game but rebounded with a 145-run thrashing of Melbourne Renegades. There were some tight wins along with the way with a one-wicket thriller against Melbourne Stars and a two-wicket victory next game against Renegades. They stumbled to a heavy defeat against Scorchers in Perth but were still able to finish top of the table. James Vince led the way with the bat – finishing the season with back-to-back scores of 98 not out and 95 – while Ben Dwarshuis was the leading wicket-taker.
There is very little chance of any cameo appearances from the Test players who have occasionally dropped in – Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc and Steven Smith – due to the Ashes. They will also miss Sean Abbott for the first three games due to Australia A commitments and the club have signed cover although Chris Jordan’s recruitment is a boost. England have a T20I series at the end of January so Jordan, Tom Curran and James Vince could all be in the frame for that.
Although he was part of the T20 World Cup squad, Tom Curran has slipped down England’s white-ball pecking order in the last couple of years. He missed last season’s BBL because of the difficultly of travel and the need to quarantine but is now back and will be looking to restate his credentials. He was Sixers’ leading-wicket in the 2019-2020 title-winning campaign and has also played some very handy innings with the bat in the middle order. His combination with England team-mate Jordan arguably makes Sixers stronger than last season, especially when they get Abbott back.
Key stat (Gaurav Sundararaman)
Vince and Philippe form the core of Sixers’ batting unit. Together they combined for 1045 runs (41% of the batter runs) and were the second and third highest run-getters in the league. Not only were they consistent but also scored at a quick pace with a healthy strike rate of 143.50 and 149.40
Andrew McGlashan is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo