Thunder out to prove to Sixers they are the top Sydney team
The Sixers’ boast they were the superior Sydney team in the Big Bash has ruffled the Thunder, fueling the fire for another explosive derby contest.
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The Thunder have laughed off the Sixers’ claim that they are the top Big Bash team in Sydney by reminding their rivals who won their last meeting.
The Sixers are ahead on the ladder but the Thunder crushed them by 21 runs in their last Sydney Smash showdown at Spotless Stadium on Christmas Eve and confident of dishing out another beating at the SCG on Saturday night.
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All-rounder Chris Green said his team are even more motivated after the men in magenta scaled the Harbour Bridge to cheekily suggest they look down on their Western Sydney rivals.
“Getting their photos on top of the bridge, I so want to give it to them,” Green told The Daily Telegraph.
“For us, it’s always like playing against your little brother when we play the Sixers because we’re definitely the big brother.”
Thunder’s new teenage wicketkeeper Baxter Holt said the fact all the players know each other so well just makes everyone more determined to win.
“We’re all from the state so we train very closely and we’re able to watch each other play and train most week so it’ll be a close game,” he said.
“I’m sure all the boys will try and get into each other but I’ll all be in good nature.”
The Sydney Smash is already the fiercest rivalry in BBL but the stakes are even higher for tonight.
The Thunder need to win to keep alive their semi-final hopes while a victory for the Sixers will guarantee them a playoff spot and possibly home ground advantage.
“This is an opportunity to knock the Sixers off twice in one season but our main goal is to be alive going into our last game,” Green said.
“We’ve now got ourselves in a position where we probably have to win our last two games then wait and see what happens so we owe it to ourselves and our fans to put in two really big performances because there’s been a couple of games this season where we’ve been thereabouts and haven’t got over the line.
“The Sixers are playing really good cricket at the moment and looking as though they’re going to play the finals because they’ve clearly figured out their best formula.
“They’ve had some impressive wins and played a lot of games in a row at home now so they know how to play their own conditions pretty well but it’s similar for us because we’ve played a lot of cricket there as well so if we can knock over their top order and get into their middle order early with our spinners I think we’ll be successful.”
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