2020–21 Sydney Sixers WBBL season

Sydney Sixers

2020–21 season
Coach	Ben Sawyer
Captain(s)	Ellyse Perry
Home ground	North Sydney Oval
League	WBBL
Record	6–6 (5th)
Finals	DNQ
Leading Run Scorer	Alyssa Healy – 402
Leading Wicket Taker	Marizanne Kapp – 13
Player of the Season	Alyssa Healy
← 2019–20 2021–22 →

The 2020–21 Sydney Sixers Women's season was the sixth in the team's history. Coached by Ben Sawyer and captained by Ellyse Perry, the Sixers played the entirety of WBBL|06 in a bio-secure Sydney hub due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[1] They finished the regular season in fifth place on the points table, directly below the Perth Scorchers due to an inferior net run rate. Consequently, the Sixers narrowly missed out on qualifying for the finals for the second-straight year.

Squad[]

Each 2020–21 squad was made up of 15 active players. Teams could sign up to five 'marquee players', with a maximum of three of those from overseas. Marquees are classed as any overseas player, or a local player who holds a Cricket Australia national contract at the start of the WBBL|06 signing period.^[2]

Personnel changes made ahead of the season included:

• Lauren Smith departed the Sixers, signing with the Sydney Thunder.^[3]
• Angela Reakes returned to the Sixers, where she played the first three WBBL seasons before a two-year stint with the Melbourne Stars.^[4]
• Lisa Griffith signed with the Sixers, departing the Sydney Thunder.^[5]

The table below lists the Sixers players and their key stats (including runs scored, batting strike rate, wickets taken, economy rate, catches and stumpings) for the season.^[5][6][7]

No.	Name	Nat.	Birth date	Batting style	Bowling style	G	R	SR	W	E	C	S	Notes
Batters
29	Erin Burns		22 June 1988	Right-handed	Right-arm off spin	13	160	123.07	6	6.60	9	–
7	Maddy Darke		30 March 2001	Right-handed	Right-arm off spin	2	1	100.00	–	–	0	–
6	Ashleigh Gardner		15 April 1997	Right-handed	Right-arm off spin	9	93	134.78	6	6.15	4	–	Australian marquee
30	Angela Reakes		27 December 1990	Right-handed	Right-arm leg spin	13	79	101.28	–	–	3	–
All-rounders
14	Jodie Hicks		19 January 1997	Right-handed	Right-arm medium	13	0	0.00	–	–	1	–
17	Marizanne Kapp		4 January 1990	Right-handed	Right-arm fast medium	13	192	106.07	13	6.14	4	–	Overseas marquee
8	Ellyse Perry		3 November 1990	Right-handed	Right-arm fast	13	390	96.53	8	8.25	6	–	Captain, Australian marquee
20	Dane van Niekerk		14 May 1993	Right-handed	Right-arm leg spin	13	166	101.84	10	7.28	0	–	Overseas marquee
Wicket-keeper
77	Alyssa Healy		24 March 1990	Right-handed	–	13	402	161.44	–	–	6	5	Australian marquee
Bowlers
3	Sarah Aley		3 June 1984	Right-handed	Right-arm medium	8	3	75.00	6	8.35	1	–
18	Stella Campbell		15 June 2002	Right-handed	Right-arm fast medium	13	2	50.00	10	7.96	0	–
5	Lauren Cheatle		6 November 1998	Left-handed	Left-arm fast medium	2	0	–	0	6.00	1	–
54	Lisa Griffith		28 August 1992	Right-handed	Right-arm fast medium	10	25	125.00	2	11.00	2	–
22	Emma Hughes		13 November 2000	Right-handed	Right-arm medium	2	2	100.00	1	6.00	1	–
4	Hayley Silver-Holmes		18 August 2003	Right-handed	Right-arm fast medium	7	0	0.00	4	7.63	1	–

Ladder[]

Pos	Team v t	Pld	W	L	NR	Pts	NRR
1	Melbourne Stars (RU)	14	8	3	3	19	0.965
2	Brisbane Heat	14	8	4	2	18	0.543
3	Sydney Thunder (C)	14	7	5	2	16	0.344
4	Perth Scorchers	14	6	6	2	14	0.355
5	Sydney Sixers	14	6	6	2	14	−0.084
6	Adelaide Strikers	14	6	7	1	13	0.135
7	Melbourne Renegades	14	4	8	2	10	−1.008
8	Hobart Hurricanes	14	3	9	2	8	−1.143

•   The top 4 teams advance to the knockout phase

Fixtures[]

All times are local time

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In front of a sold out reduced-capacity home crowd,^[11] the Sydney Sixers put on a 104-run opening partnership which came to an end during the 13th over when Alyssa Healy was stumped by Josie Dooley off the bowling of Molly Strano for 63. Two balls later, Ellyse Perry was dismissed for 37 by a spectacular diving catch from Courtney Webb, lauded as a contender for the best of the season.^[12][13] Marizanne Kapp (22 not out from 17 balls) and Erin Burns (19 off 11) helped the Sixers finish their innings with a total of 4/166.

On the first ball of the run chase, Lizelle Lee was dropped at backward point off the bowling of Perry. At just 3/70 in the 11th over, Webb joined Lee in the middle for the Melbourne Renegades to form a rapid 73-run stand from 33 deliveries. Sixers veteran Sarah Aley eventually broke through in the 16th over, removing Lee for 79 via a Burns catch in the outfield. Requiring 24 runs from the remaining 26 balls, Webb (46 not out off 28) saw the Renegades across the line with six wickets in hand inside the last over, mirroring her finishing heroics of a similarly tight encounter between the two teams in WBBL|05.^[14] The loss dramatically decreased the Sixers' chances of qualifying for finals heading into the final day of the regular season.^[15]

The match was also shrouded in controversy, and the outcome potentially affected, due to an "administration error" self-reported by the Sixers before the commencement of the second innings. Hayley Silver-Holmes, who had missed several previous games due to injury, was named in the team line-up despite not having yet been granted approval by the W/BBL Technical Committee to be added back into the official squad. Upon discovering the mistake, the Sixers ensured Silver-Holmes took no active part in the game and Maddy Darke replaced her as a substitute fielder, leaving them a bowler short in what was essentially a must-win game. Cricket Australia (CA) fined the Sixers $25,000 ($15,000 suspended for twelve months) with CA's Head of Integrity and Security stating that the breach, "while serious in nature," had a "reduced impact due to the Club's actions" during the game.^[16][17][18]

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Statistics and awards[]

• Most runs: Alyssa Healy – 402 (5th in the league)^[21]
• Highest score in an innings: Alyssa Healy – 111 (52) vs Melbourne Stars, 22 November^[22]
• Most wickets: Marizanne Kapp – 13 (equal 12th in the league)^[23]
• Best bowling figures in an innings: Marizanne Kapp – 3/14 (2 overs) vs Adelaide Strikers, 26 October^[24]
• Most catches: Erin Burns – 9 (2nd in the league)^[25]
• Player of the Match awards:
  • Alyssa Healy – 3
  • Erin Burns, Ashleigh Gardner, Ellyse Perry – 1 each
• WBBL|06 Player of the Tournament: Alyssa Healy (equal 4th)^[26]
• Sixers Most Valuable Player: Alyssa Healy^[27]

References[]