BBL final: Sydney Sixers to meet Perth Scorchers in Melbourne
- Published
Perth Scorchers' Asthon Turner (left) and Moises Henriques of Sydney Sixers will look to lead their teams to a record fourth BBL title
Depleted Sydney Sixers will look to win a third successive Big Bash League title when they face Perth Scorchers in Friday's final in Melbourne.
The Sixers have been so badly hit by injuries and Covid that all-rounder Dan Christian has offered "free beer" to anyone who wants to play for them.
The Scorchers, beaten by the Sixers in last year's final, finished top of the table at the end of the league stage.
Live commentary of the match will be on the BBC Sport website from 08:30 GMT.
The entire match will be replayed on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra at 14:00.
The final at Marvel Stadium is a meeting between the BBL's two most successful teams, with three titles each.
After topping the table, the Scorchers advanced straight to the final by defeating the Sixers, who then had to come through a dramatic last-ball win against Adelaide Strikers.
Captain Moises Henriques and veteran spinner Steve O'Keefe will be fit for the Sixers, but batter Daniel Hughes faces a fitness test.
They are definitely without injured batter Jordan Silk, while star wicketkeeper-batter Josh Philippe and brothers Mickey and Jack Edwards have tested positive for Covid.
The Sixers are hoping to include Australia batter Steve Smith after he was denied the chance to play against the Strikers because he was not in their initial squad list.
Christian tweeted: "Shout out to anyone in Melbourne that wants a game of cricket tomorrow night.
"My team is struggling to get 11 Covid-free, fit players on the park. Warm up starts at 6.30pm at Marvel Stadium.
"Free beer afterwards, potentially out of a large cup."
James Vince has been part of the Sixers squad, while pace bowler Tymal Mills has featured for the Scorchers, with both now in the England squad for the T20 series against West Indies.
The Scorchers have played only one match at home in Perth because of Western Australia's Covid rules, but have lost just three of their 15 games.
"We started off the tournament not really knowing how good we were," Scorchers and Surrey batter Laurie Evans told BBC London.
"As we've gone through, we realised quite quickly how much better we were than a lot of other sides.
"There is some expectation for us to go and win, but we're very relaxed."
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