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Sixers back to the summit thanks to Steve Smith’s crisp half-century
Andrew Slevison • January 16th, 2025 9:10 am
The Sydney Sixers returned to the top of the BBL|14 table with a tense three-wicket win over the Strikers in Adelaide on Wednesday night.
The sixth Sixers triumph of the season came courtesy of a Steve Smith half-century as the visitors chased down a fairly solid total set by the Strikers.
Batting first, Adelaide overcame the early loss of dangerous opener Matt Short to force their way to 5/182 through several handy contributions.
Import Ollie Pope struck 57 (off 39 balls) with five boundaries while Alex Ross made 48 (off 37) and Jamie Overton added an unbeaten 32 from just 14 deliveries.
There were some remarkable fielding efforts by Lachy Shaw who produced a superb save (some incredible vision below) while taking a handy catch to dismiss Ross just when he was getting a taste for it.
Sydney’s run chase was dampened when Josh Philippe made way early, but Smith was a steady hand with an assured 52 (off 31) which included four sixes.
Some of his hitting was as crisp as you’ll see. It backs up his unbeaten 121 against the Scorchers last weekend.
After his fielding heroics, Shaw contributed with the bat by hitting 32 (off 21) while Ben Dwarshius struck 30 (off 23) and Hayden Kerr chipped in with 18 not out as the Sixers reached the target on the second last ball.
Last season’s runners-up next meet fellow finals-bound outfit the Thunder in the Sydney Smash at the SCG on Friday night before setting their sights on the knockout phase of the tournament.
The Strikers, who sit sixth, must beat the Scorchers in Perth on Saturday and hope the Stars and Heat above them falter if they are to sneak a spot in the top four.
BBL|14 continues on Thursday night when the Heat host the Hurricanes at the Gabba from 7:30pm AEDT which you can hear LIVE on SEN.
