Big Bash final: Rain threatens to wash out decider and present Sydney Sixers with title

Torrential weather is expected to hit NSW across the weekend, with forecasters predicting up to 90mm of rain in Sydney on Saturday alone. It’s not the news the Melbourne Stars needed.

Nick Larkin of the Stars bats during the Big Bash League (BBL) Challenger Final cricket match between the Melbourne Stars and the Sydney Thunder at the MCG in Melbourne, Thursday, February 6, 2020. (AAP Image/Scott Barbour) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY, IMAGES TO BE USED FOR NEWS REPORTING PURPOSES ONLY, NO COMMERCIAL USE WHATSOEVER, NO USE IN BOOKS WITHOUT PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT FROM AAP

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The Melbourne Stars might have claimed a rare finals win, but they now risk watching the BBL trophy being handed over to the Sydney Sixers without a ball being bowled in the decider.

Melbourne’s green team won through to their third final after downing the Sydney Thunder by 28 runs in Thursday night’s preliminary final.

But batsman Nick Larkin says the Stars will have no one but themselves to blame if they are denied an opportunity at battling it out for the title at the SCG on Saturday night.

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Nick Larkin is worried the wet weather in Sydney will wash away his team’s chances.

Torrential weather is expected to hit NSW across the weekend, with forecasters predicting up to 90mm of rain in Sydney on Saturday alone.

The Stars finished on top of the ladder and would have hosted the final at the MCG if they defeated the Sixers in the qualifying final.

Instead, the Sixers, having earned hosting rights by winning that game in Melbourne last Friday, will be awarded the title if there is no result.

“We’d be disappointed (to lose in that way) but they’ve (Sixers) earned the right to be hosting the final,” Larkin said.

“We can’t control the weather so you know whatever the length of the game, we’re going to just go and give it a crack.

“If it (weather) intervenes what more could we have done than beat them down here; we had that opportunity and we didn’t take it.”

Haris Rauf and Glenn Maxwell may not get the chance to shine at the SCG.

A minimum of five overs per team is required to constitute a completed Twenty20 match.

There is no spare day in case of rain, with calls coming this week to shift the game to Melbourne.

A day after saying the final had to stay in Sydney, Thunder captain Callum Ferguson has changed his tune after having more of a think about the situation.

“With a tournament this big, I feel like that’s got to be of the utmost importance - you’ve got to get the game played,” he said.

“What we don’t want is a title handed over with no game played and just the top- side winning.

“We’ve got to make sure there’s a reserve day, at least.”

It would be another frustrating end to a BBL campaign for the Stars, who are one of only two teams yet to win a title.

The victory over the Thunder was just the Stars’ third finals win in 11 attempts, having made the post-season in eight of the nine editions of the BBL.

Originally published as Big Bash final: Rain threatens to wash out decider and present Sydney Sixers with title