Predicted finish: 2nd — finals certainties and a genuine title threat
For the first time since a Thursday night at North Sydney Oval in December 2015, the Sydney Sixers will walk out without Alyssa Healy. The foundation keeper-opener retired in March after 129 matches, 3,125 runs and 105 dismissals in magenta, and her absence is the single biggest change at any club this summer.
And yet, captain Ash Gardner reckons this is the strongest list the Sixers have had in a long time. She has a point. They returned to finals last season for the first time since WBBL|08, finished second on the ladder, and only fell 11 runs short of the decider in the Challenger against Perth. They’ve since won the pre-season Spring Challenge, beating the Scorchers in the final. I have them right back in the mix.
The squad
Head coach: Peter Clarke (new)
Captain: Ashleigh Gardner
| Batters & keepers | All-rounders | Bowlers |
|---|---|---|
| Sophia Dunkley (ENG) | Ellyse Perry | Maitlan Brown |
| Grace Lyons (wk) | Ashleigh Gardner (c) | Lauren Cheatle |
| Elsa Hunter | Amelia Kerr (NZ) | Sarah Coyte |
| Frankie Nicklin | Alice Capsey (ENG) | Caoimhe Bray |
| Erin Burns | Courtney Sippel |
Ins: Alice Capsey (from Renegades), Sarah Coyte (from Renegades), Frankie Nicklin, Grace Lyons (from ACT Meteors, injury replacement for Maddy Darke)
Outs: Alyssa Healy (retired), Mady Villiers (overseas slot not renewed), plus Mathilda Carmichael, Lauren Kua and Emma Manix-Geeves (uncontracted)
The off-season was busy on and off the field. Matthew Mott shifted across to coach the BBL side, and his WBBL|11 assistant Peter Clarke steps up on a two-year deal while continuing as NSW Breakers coach. Clarke took the Breakers to the WNCL final last season, and his eight years as a psychologist with the Australian women’s team mean he already knows most of this group very well.
On the list, the recruiting was all about the Healy-shaped hole. The plan was Maddy Darke, a Sixers junior lured home from the Scorchers on a three-year deal to take the gloves. But a stress fracture in her leg has ruled her out of the entire season, and ACT Meteors captain and wicketkeeper Grace Lyons has been signed in her place. Capsey arrives as the club’s third overseas player alongside Dunkley and Kerr, and she can bat, bowl off-spin and, having kept for England recently, stand up to the stumps too. Coyte, a WBBL|02 champion with the Sixers, comes home with title medals from the Strikers and Renegades as well.
With the overseas draft scrapped this season, the Sixers locked in their internationals early and it shows: the list is settled, balanced and experienced.
Squad analysis
Strengths
The opening pair. Perry and Dunkley were the best opening combination in the league last summer. Perry made 412 runs at 51.5 with a strike rate of 142, including a career-best 111 off 71 balls against the Strikers that sealed their finals spot. Dunkley added 354 at 39.33 in her first season, then went to England and won The Hundred with Trent Rockets, becoming that competition’s all-time leading run-scorer along the way.
Spin all-round depth. Gardner (19 wickets at 15 last season), Kerr and now Capsey give Clarke three genuine international spin-bowling all-rounders. Few clubs can bowl eight overs of world-class spin and still bat that deep.
A proven pace unit. Maitlan Brown (13 wickets) and Lauren Cheatle (12) were outstanding last summer, and Cheatle’s blinder in the Spring Challenge semi-final suggests she is in rhythm. Teenage quick Caoimhe Bray, who took a hat-trick against the Thunder last season, and the canny Coyte round out an attack with plenty of options.
Full availability. England and New Zealand both have clear Decembers, so all three internationals should be available for the entire campaign. That is a real edge in a short, sharp tournament.
Weaknesses
Middle-order output. Last season the Sixers leaned far too heavily on their openers. Gardner scored just 143 runs at 15.88, and Kerr, hampered by injury, managed only 58 runs and seven wickets in seven games. When Perry and Dunkley fell early in the Challenger, the chase drifted. Capsey at No.3 should help, but Gardner and Kerr simply have to deliver more with the bat.
Life after Healy. Losing Darke before a ball was bowled hurts. Lyons is a capable gloveperson who already leads the Meteors, but she is settling into a new club at short notice. And remember, Healy’s value was that she kept and opened with brutal intent. The Sixers will likely bat their keeper down the order, so the destructive edge Healy offered at the top won’t be fully replaced. Capsey taking the gloves to free up a spot for an extra batter or bowler now looms as a genuine option — a decision Clarke may tinker with early.
A new voice in charge. Clarke knows the group, but this is his first season as a WBBL head coach. Expect a short adjustment period.
Milestones to watch
- Ellyse Perry became only the second player to reach 5,000 WBBL runs last season, and now sits a little over 5,100. She trails Beth Mooney by around 400 runs for the all-time record — roughly one strong Perry season. She also turns 36 on November 3, days into the tournament.
- Ash Gardner enters WBBL|12 on 145 matches and 121 wickets. Five games brings up 150 WBBL matches, all for the Sixers, and four wickets takes her to 125.
- Amelia Kerr is in the final year of her three-year Sixers deal. A big season could shape her WBBL future.
The draw
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Time (AEDT) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 30 Oct | Brisbane Heat (away) | Allan Border Field | 7:10pm |
| Sun 1 Nov | Hobart Hurricanes (home) | Drummoyne Oval | 7:10pm |
| Fri 6 Nov | Melbourne Stars (away) | Junction Oval | 7:10pm |
| Sun 8 Nov | Sydney Thunder (home) | North Sydney Oval | 1:40pm |
| Thu 12 Nov | Melbourne Renegades (away) | Junction Oval | 7:10pm |
| Sun 15 Nov | Melbourne Renegades (home) | North Sydney Oval | 11:00am |
| Tue 17 Nov | Adelaide Strikers (away) | Karen Rolton Oval | 7:10pm |
| Sat 21 Nov | Perth Scorchers (home) | North Sydney Oval | 3:30pm |
| Thu 26 Nov | Melbourne Stars (home) | North Sydney Oval | 7:10pm |
| Sat 28 Nov | Sydney Thunder (away) | Drummoyne Oval | 7:10pm |
The Sixers open in Brisbane against a Heat side that went winless last season — a chance to bank early points — before a tough test against reigning champions Hobart two nights later.
The first Sydney Smash on November 8 is the marquee home date. The Summer Session drew a record 5,023 fans last year, the biggest regular-season WBBL crowd ever, and it is worth getting along to again.
The middle of the draw is the crunch. Back-to-back games against a Renegades side boosted by Hayley Matthews’ return are followed by a trip to Adelaide and then a Scorchers rematch at North Sydney on November 21. Perth have beaten the Sixers in consecutive finals series, so that game will tell us plenty.
The run home is kind: two Sydney games to finish, including a Smash under lights at Drummoyne to close the regular season. With four games at North Sydney and no trips west or to Hobart, the Sixers have one of the friendlier travel schedules in the league. The final is on Saturday, December 5.
Bottom line: If the middle order fires and the keeping question is settled quickly, this is a side capable of a first title since WBBL|03. Second on the ladder is my call, but don’t be surprised if they go one better.
