2011–12 Sydney Sixers season

The 2011–12 Sydney Sixers season was the club's inaugural season in the Big Bash League (BBL) as the league adopted city-based teams rather than the traditional state representative team format of previous years. This was to align itself with the structure of the Indian Premier League for the ongoing Champions League Twenty20 competition. The Sixers were the inaugural champions of the Big Bash League, thus earning the right to compete in the 2012 Champions League Twenty20 in October 2012. The Sixers went on to win this tournament in their first effort.

Sydney Sixers

2011–12 season
President	Stuart Clark
Coach	Trevor Bayliss (1st season)
Captain(s)	Brad Haddin (1st season)
Home ground	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
CLT20	DNQ
Big Bash League	3rd
BBL Finals	Champions
Leading Run Scorer	Nic Maddinson (275)
Leading Wicket Taker	Mitchell Starc (13)
Highest home attendance	27,520 (Round 3 v Melbourne Stars)
Lowest home attendance	12,285 (Round 1 v Brisbane Heat)
2012–13 →

Players

Squad

Players with international caps are listed in bold.

No.	Name	Nat	Birth date	Batting Style	Bowling Style	Notes
Batsmen
7	Dominic Thornely		1 October 1978	Right-handed	Right-arm medium & off spin
35	Ed Cowan		16 June 1982	Left-handed	Right-arm leg break
45	Michael Lumb		12 February 1980	Left-handed	Right-arm medium	Overseas player
53	Nic Maddinson		21 December 1991	Left-handed	Slow Left-arm orthodox
99	Ben Rohrer		26 March 1981	Left-handed	-
All-rounders
5	Ian Moran		16 August 1979	Right-handed	Right-arm fast Medium
15	Nathan McCullum		1 September 1980	Right-handed	Right-arm off break	Overseas Player (replaced Dwayne Bravo mid-season)
19	Steve Smith [1]		2 June 1989	Right-handed	Right-arm leg break
21	Moisés Henriques [1]		1 February 1987	Right-handed	Right-arm fast-medium
33	Shane Watson		17 June 1981	Right-handed	Right-arm seam bowling
47	Dwayne Bravo		7 October 1983	Right-handed	Right-arm fast-medium	Overseas Player (left mid-season to join national team)
72	Stephen O'Keefe[2]		9 December 1984	Right-handed	Slow left-arm orthodox
Wicket-keepers
20	Peter Nevill		13 October 1985	Right-handed	–
24	Brad Haddin[2]		23 October 1977	Right-handed	–	Captain
Bowlers
8	Josh Hazlewood		8 January 1991	Left-handed	Right-arm fast-medium
11	Stuart MacGill		25 February 1971	Right-handed	Right-arm leg break
27	Pat Cummins		8 May 1993	Right-handed	Right-arm fast
58	Brett Lee		8 November 1976	Right-handed	Right-arm fast
56	Mitchell Starc		30 January 1990	Left-handed	Left-arm fast-medium

Review

In an exciting time for the league with the introduction of city-based teams, the Sydney Sixers were chosen to host the first game of this new format. The game was played on December 16, 2011 at the historical Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). The Sixers opponents were Brisbane Heat. After losing the toss, the Sixers were asked to field first. The Sixers bowlers did a capable job of restricting the Heat to 8/139 from their allotted 20 overs. Stuart MacGill showed his class, coming out of retirement for this tournament, to end with the best figures from a Sixers bowler with 2/21. The Sixers easily chased down the runs with 8 balls to spare. Skipper and opening batsmen Brad Haddin got the Sixers off to a flying start, scoring 76 from 59 balls, allowing Steve Smith and Moises Henriques to pick up the final runs for the Sixers. The batting performance from Haddin earned him the Player of the Match award.

The Sixers then traveled down to Hobart to meet the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes dominated the match and won by 42 runs. After scoring at 6-runs per over with the loss of one wicket after 10 overs, Phil Jaques and Travis Birt unleashed a flurry of boundaries and scoring shots to amass a 107 wicket partnership. This was broken by the ever-willing wicket-taker Mitchell Starc. The Hurricanes made 3/169 and this total was seemingly unreachable for the Sixers after losing some early wickets. A fantastic spell of seam bowling from cult-hero Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, including 4 wickets for 6 runs from 11 balls at the death was enough to kill of the game. Hurricanes top order batsmen Birt was named Player of the Match.[3]

A return to the SCG brought a return to the winners' circle for the Sixers. A standout performance with the bat from West Indian import Dwayne Bravo assured the win for the Sixers. The Sixers won the toss, batted and scored 9/166 in their 20 overs. Melbourne Stars all-rounder David Hussey was their best with ball (2/25) and bat (42 runs), but his performance was not enough to get the Stars over the line. The Stars fell 2 runs short in an exciting run chase.

The Sixers then picked up three wins on the road against the Melbourne Renegades, Sydney Thunder and Adelaide Strikers before battling out a hard fought win against the Perth Scorchers at home. After losing a couple of early wickets, a steadying partnership from Henriques and Maddinson followed. A fantastic exhibition of ball striking from Smith in his 51 from 25 balls boosted the Sixers run rate. The final two overs saw the Sixers lose 5 for 8 and bowled out for 176. In the end this was enough as the Scorchers failed to achieve the target by the narrowest of margins. The run chase began well with the Scorches 0/32 from the first four overs. Mitchell Starc then claimed three wickets in five balls with some magnificent swinging deliveries. A calming performance from Marcus North assured Perth of securing top spot on the ladder, needing only 151 runs to do so. With one over to go, Perth needed 13 runs for victory. Brett Lee was the bowler for the Sixers. After a one, four, one from the first three balls, Perth now needed seven runs from three balls. Lee bowled a dot ball as Nathan Coulter-Nile swung and missed a full ball outside off stump. Lee then bowled Coulter-Nile out, but the umpire called no-ball. Replays suggested it was a legal delivery. Lee's next delivery was a wide. In what probably should have been an unbeatable seven from the last ball, now became five from two balls. Coulter-Nile scored two runs off the next ball. The final ball saw Coulter-Nile drive to Steve Smith at long on and as the batsmen tried to make two runs for a draw the result was inevitable. Smith's throw was accurate to Lee, who was able to knock off the bails, running North out. The Scorchers fell one run short. The stunning spell of swing by Starc earned him the Player of the Match.[4][5]

Big Bash League

Ladder

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	NR	Pts	NRR
1	Perth Scorchers (RU)	7	5	2	0	10	0.626
2	Hobart Hurricanes	7	5	2	0	10	0.569
3	Sydney Sixers (C)	7	5	2	0	10	0.262
4	Melbourne Stars	7	4	3	0	8	0.254
5	Brisbane Heat	7	3	4	0	6	0.324
6	Adelaide Strikers	7	2	5	0	4	−0.338
7	Melbourne Renegades	7	2	5	0	4	−0.582
8	Sydney Thunder	7	2	5	0	4	−1.250

Source: [6]

•   The top four teams qualified for the semi finals.

Matches

16 December 2011	Brisbane Heat 8/139 (20 overs)	v	Sydney Sixers (H) 3/140 (18.4 overs)	Sydney Sixers won by 7 wickets
19:00 UTC+11 (D/N) Scorecard				Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Attendance: 12,285 Umpires: Bruce Oxenford & Paul Reiffel Player of the match: Brad Haddin (Sydney Sixers)
	Dan Christian 32 (22) Stuart MacGill 2/21 (4 overs)		Brad Haddin 76 (59) Dan Christian 1/20 (4 overs)
Brisbane Heat won the toss and elected to bat

21 December 2011	Hobart Hurricanes (H) 3/169 (20 overs)	v	Sydney Sixers 9/127 (20 overs)	Hobart Hurricanes won by 42 runs
19:00 UTC+11 (D/N) Scorecard				Bellerive Oval, Hobart Attendance: 8,298 Umpires: Simon Fry & Geoff Joshua Player of the match: Travis Birt (Hobart Hurricanes)
	Phil Jaques 73 (55) Mitchell Starc 2/35 (4 overs)		Nic Maddinson 33 (27) Rana Naved-ul-Hasan 4/22 (4 overs)
Hobart Hurricanes won the toss and elected to bat

27 December 2011	Sydney Sixers (H) 9/166 (20 overs)	v	Melbourne Stars 8/164 (20 overs)	Sydney Sixers won by 2 runs
19:00 UTC+11 (D/N) Scorecard				Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Attendance: 27,520 Umpires: Gerard Abood & Bruce Oxenford Player of the match: Dwayne Bravo (Sydney Sixers)
	Dwayne Bravo 51 (39) David Hussey 2/25 (4 overs)		David Hussey 42 (30) Steve Smith 2/27 (4 overs)
Sydney Sixers won the toss and elected to bat

2 January 2012	Sydney Sixers 6/161 (20 overs)	v	Melbourne Renegades (H) 2/164 (17.4 overs)	Melbourne Renegades won by 8 wickets
19:00 UTC+11 (D/N) Scorecard				Docklands Stadium, Melbourne Attendance: 12,238 Umpires: Mick Martell & Paul Reiffel Player of the match: Andrew McDonald (Melbourne Renegades)
	Moises Henriques 41 (30) Shane Harwood 2/28 (3 overs)		Brad Hodge 72* (51) Josh Hazlewood 1/19 (2 overs)
Sydney Sixers won the toss and elected to bat

8 January 2012	Sydney Sixers 7/117 (16 overs)	v	Sydney Thunder (H) 4/29 (5.3 overs)	Sydney Sixers wins by 17 runs (D/L)
18:00 UTC+11 (D/N) Scorecard				ANZ Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 31,262 Umpires: Bruce Oxenford and Paul Reiffel Player of the match: Mitchell Starc (Sydney Sixers)
	Ben Rohrer 38 (24) Sean Abbott 2/17 (2 overs)		Jason Floros 15 (10) Mitchell Starc 3/17 (2.3 overs)
Sydney Sixers won the toss and elected to bat. Rain ended the match during the Sydney Thunder's innings after 5.3 overs.

10 January 2012	Sydney Sixers 8/151 (20 overs)	v	Adelaide Strikers (H) 87 (18.4 overs)	Sydney Sixers won by 64 runs
19:00 UTC+10:30 (D/N) Scorecard				Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Attendance: 26,837 Umpires: Ashley Barrow and Mick Martell Player of the match: Stephen O'Keefe (Sydney Sixers)
	Moises Henriques 42 (37) Alfonso Thomas 3/24 (4 overs)		Aiden Blizzard 27 (21) Steve O'Keefe 3/20 (4 overs)
Sydney Sixers won the toss and elected to bat.

18 January 2012	Sydney Sixers (H) 176 (20 overs)	v	Perth Scorchers 6/175 (20 overs)	Sydney Sixers won by 1 run
19:00 UTC+11 (D/N) Scorecard				Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Attendance: 20,400 Umpires: Simon Fry and Paul Wilson Player of the match: Mitchell Starc (Sydney Sixers)
	Steve Smith 51 (25) Nathan Coulter-Nile 3/38 (4 overs)		Marcus North 59 (52) Mitchell Starc 3/28 (4 overs)
Sydney Sixers won the toss and elected to bat

Playoff tree

	Semi Finals					Final
	1	Perth Scorchers	3/174 (20)
	4	Melbourne Stars	8/163 (20)
						1	Perth Scorchers	5/156 (20)
						3	Sydney Sixers	3/158 (18.5)
	2	Hobart Hurricanes	7/146 (20)
	3	Sydney Sixers	6/153 (20)

Matches

22 January 2012	Sydney Sixers 6/153 (20 overs)	v	Hobart Hurricanes 7/146 (20 overs)	Sydney Sixers won by 7 runs
19:00 UTC+11 (D/N) Scorecard				Blundstone Arena Attendance: 14,185 Umpires: Mick Martell and Paul Reiffel Player of the match: Nic Maddinson (Sydney Sixers)
	Nic Maddinson 68 (51) Ben Laughlin 2/25 (4 overs)		Phil Jaques 63 (48) Brett Lee 2/22 (4 overs)
Sydney Sixers won the toss and elected to bat

28 January 2012	Perth Scorchers 8/156 (20 overs)	v	Sydney Sixers 3/158 (18.5 overs)	Sydney Sixers won by 7 wickets
17:00 UTC+8 (D/N) Scorecard				WACA Ground Attendance: 16,255 Umpires: Paul Reiffel and John Ward Player of the match: Moisés Henriques (Sydney Sixers)
	Mitchell Marsh 77 (57) Brett Lee 2/21 (4 overs)		Moisés Henriques 70 (41) Ben Edmondson 2/25 (3.5 overs)
Perth Scorchers won the toss and elected to bat

Player Statistics

• All statistics includes the two finals games against the Hurricanes and Scorchers.
• Key: No. = Player Number, Apps = Appearances, Inn = Innings in bat, NO = Not Outs, SR = Strike Rate, Avg = Average, C = Caught, RO = Run Outs, St = Stumpings, Mdns = Maidens, Wkts = Wickets, Econ = Economy Rate.

Player			Batting						Fielding			Bowling
No.	Name	Apps	Inn	NO	Runs	Balls	SR	Avg	C	RO	St	Balls	Mdns	Runs	Wkts	Econ	Avg
5	Ian Moran	3	1	0	1	3	33.33	01.00	c	0	0	36	0	47	3	7.83	15.67
7	Dominic Thornely	8	5	2	81	48	168.75	16.20	c	0	0	90	0	102	3	6.80	34.00
8	Josh Hazlewood	3	1	0	2	6	33.33	02.00	c	0	0	60	0	72	3	7.20	24.00
11	Stuart MacGill	8	1	1	6	5	120.00	-	c	0	0	150	0	166	7	6.64	23.71
15	Nathan McCullum	3	2	1	23	24	95.83	11.50	c	0	0	48	0	52	3	6.50	17.33
19	Steve Smith	9	9	1	166	127	130.71	20.75	c	1	0	96	0	129	6	8.06	21.50
20	Peter Nevill	7	3	3	58	46	126.09	19.33	c	1	2	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.00
21	Moises Henriques	9	9	1	232	189	122.75	25.78	c	0	0	60	0	112	1	11.20	112.00
24	Brad Haddin	2	2	0	76	61	124.59	38.00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.00
27	Pat Cummins	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.00
33	Shane Watson	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.00
35	Ed Cowan	1	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.00
45	Michael Lumb	7	7	0	90	81	111.11	12.86	c	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.00
47	Dwayne Bravo	4	3	0	61	54	112.96	20.33	c	0	0	36	0	55	1	9.17	55.00
53	Nic Maddinson	9	9	0	275	219	125.57	30.56	c	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.00
56	Mitchell Starc	6	3	3	10	10	100.00	-	c	0	0	129	0	176	13	8.19	13.54
58	Brett Lee	9	4	1	15	16	93.75	05.00	c	1	0	200	0	216	8	6.48	27.00
72	Stephen O'Keefe	4	4	0	78	72	108.33	19.50	c	0	0	78	0	77	3	5.92	25.67
99	Ben Rohrer	7	6	1	116	82	141.46	19.33	c	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.00

Champions League Twenty20

As winners of the 2011–12 Big Bash League season, the Sixers earned the right to compete in the 2012 Champions League Twenty20 tournament. Please see 2012–13 Sydney Sixers season#Champions League Twenty20 for more details.

References

1. Buckle, Greg (1 July 2011). "Perth sign Gibbs for T20 season". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
2. "Haddin joins Sixers". Cricinfo. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
3. All-round Hurricanes ease to big win
4. Big Bash League Sixer v Scorchers Commentary
5. Sixers clinch thriller but Scorchers get home semi-final
6. "Big Bash League Table – 2011–12". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 27 December 2017.

External links

• Official site