Sydney Sixers v http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Yorkshire-c867 – Champions League Twenty20, 2012 (Group B) – Match Preview
As the Sydney Sixers look to carry their superb form into their second match of the tournament, Yorkshire will be gearing up to make their Champions League Twenty20 debut as both teams prepare to battle it out in the 6th match of the ongoing competition, due to be played at Newlands in Cape Town, today on October 16.
Current champions of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746’s Big Bash League, the Sixers have been on a winning streak for their past 6 T20 matches. Having defeated the Perth Scorchers in the final match of the inaugural edition of the BBL, the Sixers, led by wicketkeeper skipper Brad Haddin, qualified directly for the CLT20, and carried their superb momentum into the competition. The team played their first CLT20 match against the Chennai Super Kings on October 14, which they went on to win by a margin of 14 runs.
Yorkshire, meanwhile, are runners up from England’s Friends Life t20, and made it to the qualifying stages of the CLT20 after reaching the FLt20 final, which they went on to lose to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 Premier League winners Uva Next, and Caribbean champions Trinidad & Tobago. Yorkshire proceeded to breeze through the qualifying stages, defeating Uva Next by 5 wickets, and T&T by 6 wickets, to make it to the main event, where they find themselves facing the Sixers as their first challenge.
Counted among the favourites in the ongoing competition, the Sixers boast a strong line-up comprising seasoned players, many of whom have been active at international level. Among the prime features of the team is their fierce pace attack, spearheaded by young Aussie quicks Mitchell Starc (who claimed 3 wickets during the match against the Super Kings), and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Iftikhar-Ali-Khan-Pataudi-Nawab-of-c64075 Cummins, alongside Josh Hazlewood, and Moises Henriques, who won the Player of the Match award after making a solid contribution with the bat, and demolishing the Super Kings’ middle order.
The team’s line-up also features a handful of impressive all-rounders – in addition to Henriques, Steven Smith, a regular in T20 leagues and part of the Sixers’ BBL-winning team, established his worth in the Sixers’ previous match with a handy contribution with the bat, in addition to spectacular fielding, including his superb catch of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SK-Raina-c2539 in the deep.
Perhaps the more fearsome of them all is formidable all-rounder Shane Watson – the Player of the Tournament in the recently-concluded http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 World Twenty20, the 31-year-old impressed with super-human feats with both bat and ball, and the Sixers will need to make full use of him before he returns to Australia to prepare for the national team’s upcoming summer, as ordered by Cricket Australia. Watson’s wicket will be a key goal for Yorkshire, and they way they handle him could make or break the match for them.
In addition to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MJ-Lumb-c1981, and youngster Nic Maddinson.
Yorkshire, meanwhile, will be relying heavily on the experienced duo of skipper Andrew Gale and Phil Jaques when it comes to batting. However, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AU-Rashid-c1106, and Gary Ballance, are also likely to bolster the batting order in a big way – Miller will be counted upon to deliver in home conditions, Rashid has played a critical role in helping to finish matches in both qualifying games, and the expectations from Ballance, after he scored a match-winning unbeaten 64 against T&T and cleverly manipulated the weaker bowlers, have risen considerably.
The team also looks to be set on the bowling front, although they will need something extra-special to break through the Sixers’ fortified batting order, which is bound to prove more challenging than that of Uva Nexhttp://www.senore.com/Cricket/Thomas-George-Burrows-c93472 and T&T. Experienced medium-pacer Ryan Sidebottom will be expected to lead the charge, after having claimed 3 for 13 in the team’s previous match, against T&T. He is likely to be supported by Moin Ashraf and Steven Patterson, and all three medium pacers are bound to enjoy the conditions at Cape Town.
The match provides the Sixers an ideal opportunity to further their CLT20 campaign, while Yorkshire will be keen to get started on the right foot. The weather in Cape Town today is mostly sunny, and offers both teams ideal conditions, with expected temperatures of around 14 - 22° C.
Sydney Sixers 15-man squad:
1 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SR-Watson-c2558
Yorkshire 15-man squad:
1 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/RJ-Sidebottom-c2333, 14 Iain Wardlaw, 15 Eddie Wilson (wicketkeeper)
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