Get everything you need to know as the Sydney Sixers and Perth Scorchers battle it out in the WBBL|11 Challenger
Match facts
Who: Sydney Sixers v Perth Scorchers
What: Challenger, Weber WBBL|11
Where: North Sydney Oval, Sydney
When: Thursday, December 11. Bat flip at 6.30pm AEDT, first ball at 7.15pm AEDT
How to watch: Channel Seven, 7plus, Fox Cricket, Kayo Sports
Listen: ABC, SEN
Buy tickets: On sale Monday December 8 from 10am local time for club members and 12pm to the public in each market, buy here
Live scores: Match Centre
Highlights, news and reactions after the match: cricket.com.au, the CA Live and Big Bash apps
Officials: Sharad Patel, Drew Crozier (field), Eloise Sheridan (third), Mitch Claydon (fourth), Janine Stainer (match referee)
What’s on the line?
A place in the WBBL|11 final! The Scorchers defeated Stars by 28 runs in the Knockout on Tuesday and now travel to Sydney to take on the Sixers.
The winner travels to Hobart to meet the Hurricanes in the Final on Saturday night, while it’s season over for the loser.
Match squads
Sydney Sixers: Ashleigh Gardner (c), Maitlan Brown, Erin Burns, Mathilda Carmichael, Lauren Cheatle, Sophia Dunkley, Alyssa Healy, Elsa Hunter, Amelia Kerr, Lauren Kua, Ellyse Perry, Courtney Sippel, Mady Villiers
Ins: Courtney Sippel, Mathilda Carmichael
Outs: Caoimhe Bray (back injury), Emma Manix-Geeves (omitted)
The Sixers have been landed an injury blow on the eve of the Challenger, with young gun Caoimhe Bray unavailable for selection for the duration of the WBBL Finals Series after sustaining a stress fracture in her back.
The 16-year-old, who became the youngest player to take a WBBL hat-trick earlier this season, is expected to be sidelined for a period of months while recovering.
Quick Courtney Sippel has come into the Sixers squad in her place alongside Mathilda Carmichael.
Perth Scorchers: Sophie Devine (c), Chloe Ainsworth, Maddy Darke, Amy Edgar, Mikayla Hinkley, Ebony Hoskin, Freya Kemp, Alana King, Katie Mack, Lilly Mills, Beth Mooney, Paige Scholfield, Ruby Strange
The Scorchers have named an unchanged squad from that side that defeated the Stars in the Knockout.
Possible XIs
Sydney Sixers: Ellyse Perry, Sophia Dunkley, Alyssa Healy (wk), Ashleigh Gardner (c), Amelia Kerr, Maitlan Brown, Mady Villiers, Erin Burns, Emma Manix-Geeves, Courtney Sippel, Lauren Cheatle
Perth Scorchers: Beth Mooney (wk), Katie Mack, Maddy Darke, Sophie Devine (c), Freya Kemp, Paige Scholfield, Chloe Ainsworth, Alana King, Lilly Mills, Ruby Strange, Amy Edgar
How’s the weather looking?
Currently, the forecast for North Sydney on Thursday is for a top of 23 degrees Celsius, and ominously, between 1-25mm of rain. Here’s hoping it’s on the lower side! While there is a reserve day for the Final, the packed schedule means there isn’t one for the Challenger. If the minimum of five overs a side for a game could not be completed, the Sixers would advance as the higher-ranked qualifier.
Head-to-head Recent form
Sydney Sixers: W L W L W NR W W W
The Sixers had a mixed start to the season, but found their groove in the second half and looked to be peaking at the right time. A stumble against the Renegades in their second-last game meant their finals’ hopes came down to Sunday’s match against the Strikers, and a thrilling one-run, final-ball win got them through. The high-pressure game leading into finals should stand them in good stead and after they were able to finish in second spot, they also get more of a break before they host the Challenger.
Perth Scorchers: L W L W L W W L W W W
The Scorchers had a 2-3 record midway through the regular season, but finished strongly to claim a home final and third spot on the table. Beth Mooney and Sophie Devine are flying, Katie Mack has strengthened their top order, and while Alana King has not been at her best with a broken finger, the Scorchers attack is still getting the job done.
After seeing off the Stars in the Knockout, they roll on to Sydney in the hopes of securing their first appearance in the Final since they won the title in WBBL|07.
What they said
‐ Ashleigh Gardner, Sixers captain
‐ Alana King, Scorchers allrounder
Club news
Sydney Sixers
Perth Scorchers
Rapid stats
The Sydney Sixers won by 10 wickets in their last match against the Perth Scorchers, with Ellyse Perry (47*) and Sophia Dunkley (61*) chasing down the Scorchers’ 109 runs without losing a wicket; the Sixers will be hunting for back-to-back wins against the Scorchers for the first time since January 2019.
The Sixers have won their last two games at North Sydney Oval after losing seven in a row at the venue prior to that term, while the Perth Scorchers have won only three of their last nine games played away from Perth.
The Scorchers have executed 12 run outs this season, twice as many as any other team in the competition, while no team has had more batters run out this campaign than the Sydney Sixers (7).
Ellyse Perry (Sydney Sixers) has scored 823 runs against the Perth Scorchers, 293 more than any other player in the competition, while her 74.8 batting average against them is the best of any batter against a single opponent in the competition (min. 7 innings).
Beth Mooney (Perth Scorchers) has scored 40+ runs in four of her last five innings, including each of her last two, and has scored 50+ runs in seven of her last 13 innings against the Sydney Sixers for a tally of 692 runs at an average of 76.9.
WBBL|11 finals schedule
The Knockout: Perth Scorchers beat Melbourne Stars by 28 runs
The Challenger: Sydney Sixers v Perth Scorchers, North Sydney Oval (Thursday, December 11, 7.15pm AEDT)
The Final: Hobart Hurricanes v winner of The Challenger, Ninja Stadium (Saturday, December 13, 7.15pm AEDT)