ABOUT THE MATCH
The opening game of the Women’s Big Bash League 2019 will see Sydney Sixers take on Sydney Thunder. This derby match will be played on October 18 and will be hosted by the North Sydney Oval in Sydney.
TOSS PREDICTION
Since the wicket is expected to remain good for batting throughout the match, the team that wins the toss here on Friday will probably elect to bat second. Moreover, gauging a safe score on this surface can be difficult.
PITCH AND CONDITIONS
A full forty-over game is on the cards as clear weather has been forecast for Friday. It is likely to be pretty cold during the game with temperatures between 17 and 19 degrees Celsius. Humidity is expected to be around 49-55%.
The pitch has produced some big scores in the few women’s T20 international matches it has hosted. So a good batting track is expected for this tournament opener. 172 is the average first-innings score here in women’s T20I cricket.
PROBABLE PLAYING XI OF Sydney Sixers Women
Alyssa Healy (wk), Ellyse Perry (c), Ashleigh Gardner, Erin Burns, Dane van Niekerk, Jodie Hicks, Marizanne Kapp, Lauren Smith, Sarah Aley, Hayley Silver-holmes, Lauren Cheatle
PROBABLE PLAYING XI OF Sydney Thunder Women
Rachael Haynes (c), Rachel Priest (wk), Naomi Stalenberg, Alex Blackwell, Tahlia Wilson, Nida Dar, Rene Farrell, Rachel Trenaman/Shabnim Ismail, Lisa Griffith, Samantha Bates, Hannah Darlington
MATCH PREVIEW
Sydney Sixers Women
- Sydney Sixers have retained the core of their squad for this fifth edition of the Women’s Big Bash League.
- The team has drafted five very young players into their squad Alisha Burns, Emma Hughes, Maddy Darke, Hayley Silver-Holmes and Stella Campbell.
- The South African duo of Dane van Niekerk and Marizanne Kapp have recovered from their respective injuries and are likely to feature in the starting eleven for this game.
- The Sixers have left out Clara Iemma, Carly Leeson, Tahlia Wilson and Sara McGlashan who have retired.
- Sydney Sixers are coming off a successful 2018 WBBL season where they came runners-up.
- After losing their opening encounter to Melbourne Stars, they registered five consecutive victories and eventually finished at the top of the points table with ten wins and four losses from their fourteen league matches.
- Their semi-final clash against Melbourne Renegades at the Drummoyne Oval ended in a tie before the Sixers won the Super Over and advanced to the final.
- They faced Brisbane Heat in the final at the same ground and lost by three wickets.
Sydney Thunder Women
- Rachael Haynes has taken over the captaincy from Alex Blackwell and she is set to lead Sydney Thunder in the WBBL 2019.
- Blackwell may not be the skipper anymore but she is still part of the squad after having re-signed with the franchise for this season.
- The team’s most notable recruitment this year is that of all-rounder Nida Dar who has become the first Pakistani women cricketer to play in the Women’s Big Bash League.
- Sydney Thunder, however, will be without two key all-rounders this season Harmanpreet Kaur and Stefania Taylor.
- Sydney Thunder fared very well in the previous edition of the Women’s Big Bash League, finishing second on the points table at the end of the league stage with nine wins, four losses and one no result.
- They made an excellent start to their campaign, winning six of their first seven matches including five on the bounce.
- The Thunder went down to Brisbane Heat by three wickets at Cairns in their last league-stage match.
- They met Brisbane Heat again in the semi-final at Sydney and ended up losing the thrilling encounter by four runs.
PROBABLE WINNING TEAM:
Sydney Thunder has beaten Sydney Sixers five times out of nine in the tournament. Sydney Sixers are the most consistent team of the WBBL and the two-time champions are favorites to kick off their campaign with a win.
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