It’s finally here.
Steve Smith and David Warner will face off in the Sydney Smash at the SCG on Saturday evening, a mouth-watering clash that’s been a decade in the making.
The two Australian superstars rarely appear in the Big Bash League, with international commitments regularly preventing them from plying their trade in the T20 competition.
But the stars have aligned this summer, with Smith and Warner making cameo appearances for the Sixers and Thunder respectively before they jet off to India in early February.
“I’ve always had fun playing in the Big Bash with the Sixers, it’s a tremendous franchise to be involved with and I’ve been here since day one so it’s a great vibe (this season),” Smith said this week.
“It’s not about me him (Warner), it’s about the two franchises coming up against one another and there’s always been that cross-town rivalry so it should be a good night.”
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The Sixers have already booked their place in the finals, but the men in green will be desperate for a win on Saturday to keep them in the top five on the BBL ladder.
“We know each other’s capabilities, each person in the team has their own individual roles and we try to execute that as best as we can. We have that strong self-belief,” Warner said this week.
“We have some great young talent coming through, we’ve got depth of good cricket and youngsters. I’m excited to see the potential they bring.
“The future is in good hands with these youngsters coming through, and once us old fellas move out of the situation these guys will learn a lot from us hopefully – keep progressing through the grades – and hopefully lift that trophy this year, and so on.”
Earlier on Saturday, Sixers all-rounder Daniel Christian announced his retirement, with the current Big Bash tournament set to be his last.
The first ball at the SCG is scheduled for 7.05pm AEDT.
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Sixers Squad
Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird, Dan Christian, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Mickey Edwards, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Izharulhaq Naveed, Steve O’Keefe, Kurtis Patterson, Josh Philippe, Jordan Silk, Steve Smith
Thunder Squad
Ben Cutting, Joel Davies, Oliver Davies, Brendan Doggett, Matthew Gilkes, Toby Gray, Chris Green (c), Baxter Holt, Nathan McAndrew, Blake Nikitaras, Ross Pawson, Usman Qadir, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Gurinder Sandhu, David Warner, Sam Whiteman
