Event of the Day: Sydney Thunder versus Sydney Sixers

Our event of the day is the Big Bash Cricket match between the Sydney Thunder and the Sydney Sixers at the Spotless Stadium. Both sides are currently 1-0 on the season after winning their respective opening games, meaning someone will be handed their first loss of the season in tonight’s game. The Sydney rivals will be looking to improve upon last season’s identical losing records of 4-6. Sydney Thunder have been buoyed by the off-season signing of England captain Joe Root who will bolster their batting options no-end. However, Root along with their other England star Jos Buttler are restricted to playing just seven games for the Thunder before they must see out their international commitments in the West Indies.

Even though the English pair give the batting order some strength, the Thunder still need to figure out their bowling conundrum. They have always been blessed with world-class spin bowlers, however it is their fast bowling which lets them down and they will be relying on new swing bowler Daniel Sams to answer their bowling prayers. The Sydney Sixers have the opposite problem in that their bowling is of a very high quality but when it comes to batting, the Sixers struggle to find consistency with their opening two batsmen, who are regularly rotated. Josh Phillipe arguably stands the best chance of bringing some consistency to Sixers’ batting ranks. The former Perth Scorcher made his T20 debut last year against the Sixers where he would have been disappointed to have scored just 7 runs. However, despite his inexperience, Phillipe has proven himself as an exciting player with the bat in his hands and he could be a crucial cog in the Sixers team this year. This should be an exciting Sydney derby in the Big Bash.

Honourable mentions around the globe go to the NFL clash between the Oakland Raiders and the Denver Broncos at the Oakland Alameda Coliseum. The hosts have had a season to forget and go into this game with a losing record of 3-11, as they reside rock-bottom of the AFC West. Their divisional rivals have also disappointed on the gridiron this year and also have a losing record of 6-8 after losing their last two games. It is still a division rivalry and both teams will come to play despite their recent poor performance. On a day where the sporting world almost comes to a complete standstill, there are two international football matches to whet your festive appetite as Iraq play China and Palestine face Iran.

Whatever you’re watching, enjoy!

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Photos by BBL

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