Brisbane look the biggest threat to Sixers’ dominance

BEST BETS Brisbane Heat 1pt e-w 8-1 Boyles, Coral, Lads H Brook top runscorer 1pt each-way 33-1 bet365

AFTER winning the last two Big Bash League tournaments, the star-studded Sydney Sixers are going to take some stopping in pursuit of an unprecedented three-peat.

The Sixers kick off the new season with a home clash against Melbourne Stars early tomorrow morning.

Sixers skipper Moises Henriques described winning the franchise competition for the third time in a row as “very possible” and there is little reason to doubt the 7-2 shots can go all the way again.

The Sydney side won last year’s final by 27 runs against Perth Scorchers and do not look as though they will be massively impacted by red-ball commitments this year.

They have retained reliable batsman James Vince and 2020-21 Player of the Tournament Josh Philippe, while Chris Jordan arrives for the first five games to bring some added firepower.

But no side have ever won three Big Bash titles on the spin and they were far from invincible in the 2020-21 regular season, losing five matches before the playoffs.

And there could be better value elsewhere.

The Scorchers and Melbourne Stars are among the other sides high in the outright market but Brisbane Heat could be a worthwhile bet.

The Heat finished third in last year’s competition, losing to Perth in the Challenger final, and could go well again.

Losing star batsman Marnus Labuschagne to the Australia Ashes squad is a tremendous blow for Brisbane but that does not mean they are out of the running.

Chris Lynn, who was the fourth-highest runscorer with 458 runs in 13 innings in the last Big Bash, is once again in their squad while the arrival of Englishman Ben Duckett is a big plus.

Duckett spent time with Hobart Hurricanes in 2018 but this will be his debut Big Bash campaign and he is one to watch, having starred with 232 runs in eight innings for Welsh Fire in The Hundred.

Young Afghan bowler Mujeeb Ur Rahman has also arrived to enhance their spin attack and, like last season, they should again be in the mix.

Alex Hales of Sydney Thunder was the top runscorer in the 2020-21 Big Bash and along with D’Arcy Short and Marcus Stoinis, he is once again among the leading contenders for this year’s accolade according to bookmakers.

But at a much bigger price, Harry Brook of Hobart Hurricanes could be a great outside bet in the top runscorer market.

The 22-year-old was named PCA Young Player of the Year after scoring 486 runs for Yorkshire Vikings in this year’s T20 Blast and then piling on another 189 runs for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred.