Sydney Sixers vs Melbourne Renegades, BBLT20, Today Match Prediction 08 December 2023

SYS vs MLR Match Prediction & Analysis

Sydney Sixers will take on Melbourne Renegades at the SCG in the 2nd BBL match of the season on the 8th of December 2023. The last time these two teams met at this venue, Renegades restricted Sixers to 149 runs bowling first.

What looked like an easy target became a huge ask for the visitors as Ben Dwarshius led the Sixers’ bowling attack that bowled out MLR for 115 runs. 

This year, the SYS bowling department has fewer players. Though they’ve let go of quite a few players from last year, they’ve maintained the core of this bowling attack.

Changes have been aplenty in the MLR squad as well. They’ve released 3 all-rounders from last season including Andre Russell. 

Moreover, they’ve also let go of the wicket-keepers Peter Handscomb and Sam Harper replacing them with Quinton de Kock and Joe Clarke. These are some big changes that are likely to make a big impact on their batting. 

RECENT PERFORMANCE

SYS

L L W W W

SYS

116/9 in 20.0 5.8

BBL T20 2022

Brisbane Heat won by 4 wickets

02 Feb 2023

BH

117/6 in 18.2 6.38

PRS

154/3 in 18.3 8.32

BBL T20 2022

Perth Scorchers won by 7 wickets

28 Jan 2023

SYS

151/8 in 20.0 7.55

HBH

156/8 in 20.0 7.8

BBL T20 2022

23 Jan 2023

SYS

180/7 in 20.0 9

SYS

187/2 in 19.0 9.84

BBL T20 2022

Sydney Sixers beat Sydney Thunder by 125 runs

21 Jan 2023

SYT

62/10 in 14.4 4.23

SYS

203/5 in 20.0 10.15

BBL T20 2022

Sydney Sixers won by 59 runs

17 Jan 2023

ADS

144/10 in 19.1 7.51

MLR

L W L L W

MLR

162/5 in 20.0 8.1

BBL T20 2022

Brisbane Heat won by 7 wickets

29 Jan 2023

BH

164/3 in 18.5 8.71

MLR

143/4 in 18.2 7.8

BBL T20 2022

24 Jan 2023

ADS

142/7 in 20.0 7.1

PRS

212/5 in 20.0 10.6

BBL T20 2022

Scorchers won by 10 runs

22 Jan 2023

MLR

202/5 in 20.0 10.1

SYT

144/2 in 18.3 7.78

BBL T20 2022

Sydney Thunder won by 8 wickets

19 Jan 2023

MLR

142/9 in 20.0 7.1

MLR

162/7 in 20.0 8.1

BBL T20 2022

14 Jan 2023

MLS

156/7 in 20.0 7.8

HEAD TO HEAD

TEAMS PREVIEW

Sydney Sixers Preview

Moises Henriques and co. are all set to begin their 2023-24 BBL season at the SCG in front of their home crowd taking on Melbourne Renegades. Though they’ve let go of Naveen-ul-Haq and Chris Jordan, bringing in bowling all-rounder Tom Curran is a great decision. 

We reckon Curran will add to the variety and strength of this Sixers bowling attack that still features key players such as Ben Dwarshuis, Sean Abbott, and Jackson Bird.

Josh Philippe and James Vince should open the innings for the Sixers. Last season we saw Kurtis Patterson open with Philippe while Vince came in at number 3. But we don’t think Patterson is the right fit at the top. He is better suited in the middle order at number 4.

James Vince can make a bigger impact at the top in the 1st powerplay. Moises Henriques is another key player in this lineup to watch out for. He is a reliable batsman who will be crucial in building a partnership in the middle overs.

And while there is no Daniel Christian this year, the lower order will still be quite strong with the likes of Jordan Silk, Hayden Kerr, and Tom Curran.

We don’t see Steve Smith making his way into this side just now. He isn’t an ideal fit given the number of batters with a similar style of cricket in this lineup.

Sydney Sixers Predicted Playing XI:

Kurtis Patterson, Josh Philippe (wk), James Vince, Moises Henriques (c), Jordan Silk, Tom Curran, Hayden Kerr, Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Jackson Bird, Todd Murphy

Sydney Sixers Actual Playing XI:

Sean Abbott, Josh Philippe, James Vince, Moises Henriques, Jackson Bird, Jordan Silk, Jack Edwards, Steve O'Keefe, Tom Curran, Steven Smith, Ben Dwarshuis

Melbourne Renegades Preview

Melbourne Renegades boast of a solid overall squad with many big-impact players who could turn the game on its head single-handedly. Yet, for some reason, they lost both their game against Sydney Sixers last season.

They got off to a winning start with 3 consecutive wins and then lost 4 games on the trot including two against the Sixers. Skipper Nic Maddinson had to sit out in the knockout game while Aaron Finch led the side. 

MLR lost to the Brisbane Heat in that game. Maddinson has a huge task at hand this season. Firstly, their performances against strong opponents have been quite disappointing.

Renegades, even with a strong lineup featuring some of the most experienced T20 stars have failed with the bat quite often. That’s something they need to work on and secondly, the number of changes in the squad this year presents another challenge of putting together the right XI for the captain.

Some of the notable mentions among the new signings for MLR include Adam Zampa, Nathan Lyon, and Peter Siddle among the bowlers. Siddle, who led the Adelaide Strikers was also a key wicket-taker for the side.

His addition to this bowling attack surely adds a lot of strength and Zampa with his leg-break is well-known for his ability to strike at the right time. Quinton de Kock is another huge addition to this lineup who could well solve their batting problems.

Melbourne Renegades Predicted Playing XI:

Quinton de Kock (wk), Nic Maddinson (c), Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh, Jonathan Wells, Will Sutherland, Joe Clarke, Kane Richardson, Peter Siddle, Adam Zampa, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Melbourne Renegades Actual Playing XI:

Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson, Jake Fraser McGurk, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Nic Maddinson, Jonathan Wells, Thomas Rogers, Aaron Finch, Will Sutherland, Joe Clarke, Jordan Cox

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

It is a batting pitch here at the SCG but it also offers turn for the spinners and the likes of Zampa and Mujeeb will play a key role in this game. The weather forecast is for scattered thunderstorms on the match day in Sydney.

SYS vs MLR Pitch Report

Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney will host the SYS vs MLR clash of the Big Bash League 2023-24. It is only the second match of the season and the first at this venue. We expect a high-scoring game considering the pitch conditions and the batting strength of both lineups. While the average 1st innings score in BBL matches on this ground is 157 runs, a match-winning total should be something over 180 runs.

Toss: To Bat

There’s not much of a difference between the number of wins for the team batting first and second on this ground. However, considering Sydney’s performances here last season, we reckon batting first would be a better strategy.