The Sixers are ‘getting the band back together’ and ready for a chart-topping encore
The Sixers and Stars are currently joint favourites to win BBL09 but tonight’s qualifier at the Melbourne Cricket Ground will tip the scales in favour of the winners because they will get to host the final so the stakes could not be higher
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The Melbourne Stars have been put on notice: the Sixers are on a mission.
It’s been eight long years since the men in magenta shot to the top of the charts to win their only Big Bash title to date but they’re finally getting ready for an encore.
It’s been a long time coming but they’ve got three of their original front men back together – Steve Smith, skipper Moises Henriques and spinner Steve O’Keefe – plus a back-up chorus line including Nathan Lyon, Sean Abbott and Josh Hazlewood.
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“We’re getting the band back together,” O’Keefe told The Daily Telegraph.
“When these guys come back in they mean business, they want to come back and win games and do well for the team.
“That’s the reason they’re playing, they could easily have a holiday but they come in and right from the get go show why they’re Australian standard and we’re going to need that to beat the likes of the Melbourne Stars at home.”
The Sixers and Stars are currently joint favourites to win BBL09 but tonight’s qualifier at the Melbourne Cricket Ground will tip the scales in favour of the winners because they will get to host the final as well as the bushfire relief fundraiser.
The Sixers have played in three previous finals – all against the Perth Scorchers for one unforgettable win in 2012 and heartbreaking losses in 2015 and 2017 – but they have never hosted the biggest show in BBL and with the last three BBL champions all hosting the final the stakes could not be higher.
To do that, they have to find a way to win at the MCG, which is anything but a given after they suffered big losses there last season and again this season.
“They pulled our pants down in Melbourne the last couple of times which was pretty disappointing so even though we get a second opportunity under the new (five team) finals system, this is the game that we want to go all out and win,” O’Keefe said.
“It’s fortunate that you do get a second opportunity but we don’t want to have to use it, so going down there and making a statement and winning will go a long way towards that if we want to win this tournament.”
After starting the season as the Sixers’ No. 1 spinner, O’Keefe lost his spot after getting injured but the veteran leftie has fought his way back in the old fashioned, tying down the opposition batsmen.
He’s only taken three wickets for the season but at a stingy economy rate of less than seven runs an over and the 35-year-old is tipping the spinners to play a big part in shutting down the Stars’ explosive hitters after Marcus Stoinis smashed a BBL record 147 not out at their last MCG meeting.
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“Gaz (Lyon) is bowling well and it wouldn’t surprise me if the MCG really suits his bowling so I’m expecting big things from him in the semi and the final,” O’Keefe said,
“We’ve got most of our bases covered with the team we’ve got and I think we’ve shown this year in a few of the really tight games we’ve won that when it does come down to pressure situations we’ve got guys who are willing to stand up and close the game out so that’s the focus for us.”
Originally published as The Sixers are ‘getting the band back together’ and ready for a chart-topping encore