The Sydney Thunder will host the Sydney Sixers in another edition of the popular Sydney Smash on Saturday night, reigniting a long running rivalry between the two franchises.
There is plenty of talent on both sides of the divide, so expect a high-octane encounter at Giants Stadium!
We'll have a heap of BBL13 content for you this season including BBL tips for every match and regular fantasy BBL for contests on Draftstars to help you land the big cash in the $50,000 Big Bash Star 2024 Final!
Draftstars have put up a huge $15,000 contest for this clash, as well as a Big Bash Star Qualifier.
Additionally, make sure to check out our full Thunder vs Sixers preview and betting tips!
Big Bash League (BBL13) Fantasy Tips: Thunder vs Sixers
Thunder Squad: Cameron Bancroft, Ollie Davies, Liam Doddrell, Matthew Gilkes, Toby Gray, Chris Green, Alex Hales, Liam Hatcher, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Sam Konstas, Blake Nikitaras , Nathan McAndrew, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, William Salzmann, Gurinder Sandhu, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha
Sixers Squad: Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird, Joel Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Moises Henriques, Ryan Hadley, Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Todd Murphy, Izharulhaq Naveed, Stephen O’Keefe, Kurtis Patterson, Mitch Perry, Josh Philippe, Jordan Silk, James Vince
It’s been a tough season for the Sydney Thunder so far, with the men in green winning just one of their four matches.
The Thunder have lost to the Heat twice as well as the Strikers, and the bulk of the work has been left to a few.
Cameron Bancroft, Ollie Davies, Zaman Khan and Daniel Sams have all been among the top performers in the competition, but the rest of the squad are failing to fire, resulting in disjointed and inconsistent performances.
It will be tough for the Thunder to turn things around as Khan has left the squad, replaced by in-form Englishman Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who will beef up a sometimes-fragile middle order.
On the other side of Sydney, the Sixers have been going about their business as usual, chalking win after win to sit third on the table.
Enjoying the benefits of settled, seasoned squad, the men in magenta have overcome their batting deficiencies by squeezing with the ball.
Spinners Steve O’Keefe and Todd Murphy have kept things tight, while Jackson Bird has been the main destroyer with six wickets.
A loss against the Stars during the week won’t bother the Sixers too much, as all-rounder Hayden Kerr is on the brink of a return, and another finals berth is highly likely.
Fantasy Plays
Love It – Daniel Sams ($19,700)
Sams has worked his way back into form after a slow start to BBL13, producing back-to-back DFS scores of 141 and 133. With Zaman Khan out of the XI, Sams will be forced to step up even further with the ball, and his middle order hitting is also highly valuable.
Love It – Steve O’Keefe ($11,300)
O’Keefe will likely play as the sole frontline spinner for the Sixers on Saturday night, and the Thunder batters shape us as an excellent matchup for the veteran tweaker. SOK will enjoy spinning the ball away from the Thunder’s right-hander heavy batting group, making him a great selection at just over $11k.
Don’t Love It – Moises Henriques ($13,300)
There is an injury cloud over Henriques after he appeared to hurt his shoulder midweek against the Stars. If Henriques does play, I don’t expect him to be quite 100%, and his role will take a hit if Hayden Kerr returns as predicted.
Don’t Love It – Ollie Davies ($15,200)
Davies has been solid enough in BBL13 to date, scoring 113 runs at nearly 30. However, that kind of return doesn’t justify his $15k price tag on this slate, which ranks him among the top values players. I’m a big fan of Davies as a player, but I just can’t see him outperforming his salary here.
Who Knows – Josh Phillipe ($18,600)
Josh Phillipe used to be one of the premier wicket-keeper batsmen in the BBL, but his recent form does not justify that label. Phillipe is averaging just 41 DFS points this year, with a high score of 65.5, and it’s hard to see a turnaround in form coming any time soon. However, sometimes all it takes is one innings for a batter to return to their best. Could Phillipe’s big break come against the Thunder?
Suggested Draftstars Lineup
