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Gloucestershire trio all set for Big Bash Final

27 January 2017

It will be a proud moment for Gloucestershire Cricket this Saturday as three of our players are set to feature in the Big Bash Final.  Michael Klinger, Andrew Tye and Cameron Bancroft will battle to be crowned 2017 champions with the Perth Scorchers.

The Scorchers face Sydney Sixers in the final for the third time, with another epic encounter on the cards.

Klinger and Tye have featured in all matches for the Scorchers and will certainly be featuring for the home side, while Bancroft will be competing with Sam Whiteman for the gloves.

The squads:
Sydney Sixers: Moises Henriques (capt), Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird, Doug Bollinger, Johan Botha, Ben Dwarshuis, Brad Haddin, Daniel Hughes, Michael Lumb, Nathan Lyon, Nic Maddinson, Jordan Silk, Henry Thornton.

Perth Scorchers: Adam Voges (capt), Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Ian Bell, Tim Bresnan, Hilton Cartwright, Michael Klinger, Mitchell Johnson, Jhye Richardson, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Sam Whiteman.

The last time they met: Perth Scorchers 8-130 (M Marsh 31*, Somerville 2-10) lost to Sydney Sixers 4-132 (Billings 40, Tye 3-15) by six wickets with 12 balls to spare, on 27 December at the SCG

The back stories: The Perth Scorchers are coming off a cruisy seven-wicket win over the Melbourne Stars in the first semi-final, continuing their excellent form after a convincing win over the Hobart Hurricanes at Blundstone Arena in their final group match. Both those run chases were propelled by Shaun Marsh, however, and the in-form batsman will be absent for the final, called away on Australia ODI duties.

However, Mitchell Johnson should be full of confidence after destroying the Stars with 3-3 in the semi-final, while Jason Behrendorff may even make a surprise return for the final.

The Sixers couldn’t have taken a different path to the decider, forced to go to a Super Over against the Heat in the semi-final and making it through thanks to not one, but two captain’s knocks from Moises Henriques. That came after a scare in their final group match against the Stars, when the Sixers looked gone at 6-97, needing 60 off 35 for victory with only four wickets in hand. It took Sean Abbott’s ability with the bat – striking a whirlwind 33 not out off 17 balls – to eventually see the Sixers home with an over to spare.

The road to finals (most recent last):
Perth Scorchers: WLWWLWLWW
Sydney Sixers: WLWLWWLWW

The Gloucestershire impact

Michael Klinger -

Andrew Tye -

The headline acts:

Mitchell Johnson: It took some time for the pace great to find his groove after an extended break from the game, but he’s gone from strength to strength in the latter stages of the tournament. He left the Melbourne Stars shell shocked when he took 3-3 in the semi-final and he’s now the Scorchers’ most productive bowler of the tournament, with 12 wickets at 15.66.

Sean Abbot: Abbott leads the wicket taking in what’s been a breakthrough tournament for the all-rounder. He’s picked up a wicket in all but one game, taking 5-16 against the Strikers on New Year’s Eve. He started slowly with the bat, he came through with a match-winning cameo against the Stars to secure a semi-final berth.

Overall head to head: Scorchers 6, Sixers 3
Big Bash titles: Scorchers 2, Sixers 1

The history: This is the third time the Scorchers and Sixers have met in a BBL final. The Sixers won by seven wickets at the WACA in BBL|01, while the BBL|04 decider produced an all-time classic.

The stat: The Sixers have only beaten the Scorchers once since the BBL|01 final, with that win coming earlier this season at the SCG. The teams have played some epics in the meantime, not least of all the BBL|04 final that went down to the final ball.
The tip: It’s hard to go past the top-of-the-table Scorchers in front of a sold-out home crowd at The Furnace. They will need someone to step up with the bat in the absence of Shaun Marsh, however, and will look to the experienced Michael Klinger and Ian Bell to lead the way with the bat. The Sixers have plenty of potential match-winners in their line-up and have every right to head into the match confident of causing an upset, but the momentum is all with the Scorchers at the moment.

The weather: It’s going to be a scorcher in Perth on Saturday, pardon the pun. The temperature is tipped to reach a sweltering 38 degrees

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