Having appeared in twelve finals series, including reaching eight deciders and claiming three titles, it’s fair to say the Sydney Sixers are a very consistent BBL team.
For the seventh consecutive season, the Sixers finished a BBL regular season in the top two, an achievement the club’s general manager Rachael Haynes recognises as no easy feat.
“We’ve constantly led the way in that respect,” Haynes said.
“Moises (Henriques) and Greg (Shipperd) have done a fantastic job leading the club and putting some really good things in place to set those standards and making sure we’re consistently part of finals campaigns.
“To have that kind of record in this format of the game as we continue to evolve as a club, giving ourselves a chance to win trophies… I think sometimes that consistency can be underestimated. From within our club environment, we certainly appreciate just how special that is.”
The finals format meant the Sixers travelled to Western Australia twice in one week to play Perth Scorchers. Firstly in the Qualifier final, which they lost to the first-placed Scorchers, before returning to Sydney for the Challenger final where they beat the Hobart Hurricanes, meaning Henriques’ men returned to Perth with redemption on their minds.
Coming up against their greatest rivals for an unprecendented sixth time in a BBL final, the Sixers fell short against the Scorchers in front of a full house at Optus Stadium to end the BBL|15 season.
The Sixers have now lost to the Scorchers in four season finales, and the loss was their fifth defeat in a BBL final, as Perth underlined their status as the league’s most successful side and claimed their sixth BBL crown.
Despite acknowledging the defeat as dissatisfying, Haynes reflected on the Qualifier as being a very important fixture in her club’s fortunes in their BBL campaign.
“Obviously it was disappointing not to get the silverware this season,” Haynes said.
“If you finish in the top two and win that first final and that guarantees you a place at home.. I think that’s where the advantage is.
“We certainly got ourselves in a position to win over in Perth, but we just fell short with the bat. We bowled really well, but then we didn’t chase down a total that we were really capable of doing. In a lot of respects, our destiny was still in our own hands.
“I don’t think finishing first is essential to your ability to win the competition, but certainly winning that first final and hosting at home has a huge advantage.”
Although their consistency cannot be questioned, the Sixers are set to enter BBL|16 with a new coach after it was announced that dual title-winner Greg Shipperd was leaving the club after eleven seasons in charge.
The club are also yet to re-sign their skipper Henriques, who is sitting out the rest of the domestic summer with looming back surgery, leaving questions as to whether a new era with new leadership is set to take place at Moore Park.
In this third BBL|15 season review on cricket.com.au, Haynes helps us breakdown the Sydney Sixers’ season through the key talking points that defined their summer, before giving us an insight into the future of the club.
Sydney Sixers: BBL|15 snapshot
BBL|15 result: Second (7 wins, 5 losses, 1 no result), lost Final to Scorchers by six wickets
Most runs: Steve Smith (299 at 59.80)
Best strike rate (min. 50 runs): Jack Edwards (168.35)
Most wickets: Jack Edwards (19 at 18.47)
Best economy (min. 10 overs): Ben Manenti (5.93)
Contracted for BBL|16: Sean Abbott (contracted until BBL|16), Joel Davies (BBL|16), Ollie Davies (BBL|18), Ben Dwarshuis (BBL|17), Jack Edwards (BBL|16), Hayden Kerr (BBL|16), Fergus O’Neill (BBL|17), Josh Philippe (BBL|16), Lachlan Shaw (BBL|16), Jordan Silk (BBL|17), Steve Smith (BBL|16)
In: Ollie Davies (Thunder), Fergus O’Neill (Renegades)
Out: Kane Richardson (retired)
Uncontracted: Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Riley Kingsell, Ben Manenti, Todd Murphy, Mitch Perry, Jake Scott, Harjas Singh, Mitchell Starc, Charlie Stobo, Babar Azam (Pakistan), Jafer Chohan (England), Sam Curran (England)
Bouncing back from 1-3
Sydney Sixers entered 2026 having won just one of their first four matches of the BBL|15 season. In a concerning start, two of those losses came at the SCG to the Strikers (lost by three wickets) and Stars (lost by seven wickets).
Playing on the first day of the New Year in an away fixture against Melbourne Renegades, the Sixers bounced back to form with a crucial six-wicket win at Marvel Stadium.
This victory was the first in a streak of three-straight wins for the Sixers, who did not lose another match on their way to the BBL|15 finals.
The club won five out of six fixtures leading into the post-season, with a washout against Hobart Hurricanes the only occasion when the team didn’t pick up two points in this run of supreme form.
Understanding their men’s Big Bash side struggled at the start of BBL|15, Haynes noted the resilience of the Sixers group who found form after a wobbly opening few games of the competition.
“We got off to a bit of a slow start at the beginning of the tournament, which we’re not so used to.” Haynes said.
“I thought the players responded really well to that and maintained good composure in that situation. Tournament play is all about building momentum and making sure you’re playing well at the end of the season. Although we faced a little bit of adversity early… I thought we got our season back on track by winning those key moments.
“I was really, really proud of how the team rallied.”
Steve Smith’s instant impact
Despite playing only six of a possible thirteen matches for the club, Australia superstar Steve Smith still managed to top the Sixers’ run-scorers list.
Smith passed fifty on three ocassions, one of which was an electrifying 41-ball hundred against Sydney Thunder at the SCG. That knock gave Smith the record for most BBL centuries, as the Sixers opener became the first man to hit four centuries in the competition’s history.
Speaking on the dominance of the Sixers icon, Haynes was full of admiration for a player that lit up the Big Bash once again in BBL|15.
“He never ceases to amaze me with what he’s able to produce on-field,” Haynes said.
“I’ve seen it time and time again… his record in Big Bash cricket speaks for himself. I’m so rapt for him as well that he’s got the call-up to the (T20) World Cups squad. It’s well and truly deserved.
“I think he’d be absolutely stoked to part of it. He’s made no secret of his ambitions that he wants to be part of the LA (Olympics) Games in 2028. No doubt that this is a step in the right direction for that.”
Babar Azam’s BBL debut season
One of the most high-profile signings in Big Bash history occurred last June when Sydney Sixers announced Pakistan international Babar Azam would be joining the club for BBL|15.
Now the highest T20 international run-scorer of all-time, Babar’s first Big Bash season was eventful. The former Pakistan captain made 202 runs for the tournament at an average of 22.44, including two half-centuries.
Despite being the Sixers’ third highest run-scorer for the tournament, it was his strike rate that created conversation. Striking at 103.56, Babar had the third-lowest strike rate of any player who batted for the club last summer.
Selected by the Sixers as their pre-draft overseas signing, Haynes reflected on a topsy-turvy first BBL campaign for the 31-year-old.
“He had a couple of scores in there, but didn’t quite have that consistent impact across the competition,” Haynes said.
“He was by no means alone from a batting perspective… outside Steve Smith we didn’t have that consistent contribution throughout the season. It is what it is, that can happen with any player where they don’t quite have the season you’d imagined but that’s professional sport. I don’t think that speaks to what he’s capable of. I’m sure he would have liked more runs, we would have liked more runs, but that’s the way it goes.”
Knowing the off-field impacts of Babar’s signing for her club, Haynes recognised the significant contribution the Pakistan star had for engaging new audiences to the club.
“I think he brought a whole new audience to the league, not just to the Sixers,” Haynes said.
“He was great in understanding the bigger picture and wanting to really buy into that. He did a lot of work from a fan engagement perspective with a South Asian audience. That was something he was really passionate about. It was huge for us.”
As for whether we’ll see Babar return to the Big Bash next season, the club’s general manager said it was “too early to say” if the club would pursue the right-hand batter next season.
Joel Davies’ breakout tournament
In a squad with plenty of big names, it was Joel Davies who came up clutch for the Sixers on multiple occasions in BBL|15.
Putting together match-winning performances with both bat and ball, Davies managed to take 14 wickets at an average of 13.35 and economy of 6.23, while managing to hit a valuable 135 runs at a strike rate of 159.30.
The allrounder was named the KFC Player of the Match in three matches, including against Brisbane Heat in Coffs Harbour (2-19 and 35*), Melbourne Stars at the MCG (2-15) and Hobart Hurricanes in the Challenger final at the SCG (27 and 2-17).
As an exciting prospect for the Sixers, Haynes was thrilled to see the development of the 22-year-old across the tournament.
“He just had such a breakthrough year for us,” Haynes said.
“He’s a really exciting player… I think he showed this season that he’s going to be a proper, genuine allrounder. He got thrown into lots of different situations.
“His ability to play the match situation and know what was required in each moment was something that really stood out to me as the types of traits and attributes that you want in good players. He’s got so much room to grow as well, so I’m looking forward to seeing where he gets to.”
Jack Edwards makes his mark
Sixers allrounder Jack Edwards took his first five-wicket haul in the competition against Sydney Thunder in the first Sydney Smash of the season (5-26) on his way to becoming the club’s leading wicket-taker for BBL|15.
In his seventh BBL, the 25-year-old took 19 wickets at an average of 18.47 and economy of 13.60. Often used by Henriques in the tough overs, Haynes said Edwards has become a vital part of the Sixers’ bowling unit.
“His ability with with the ball is really shining through,” Haynes said.
“It doesn’t matter what moment gets thrown his way. Whether it’s in the Powerplay or having to bowl some high pressure overs, he always seems to just stand up and meet that occasion. He’s become a real crucial cog in our bowling attack.”
Although the Sixers didn’t see the best of him with the bat in BBL|15, Haynes said the club is aware of just how profound his impact could be in the middle order.
“He’s shown some really positive signs with the bat as well,” Haynes said.
“I think in time with more opportunity from a batting perspective, we’ll see just how good he is from an allrounder perspective. We already get an insight through other formats of domestic cricket, but he’s another player that played really good cricket this season that has more to give.”
Squad moves and eyes on BBL|16
Having locked in nine players for BBL|16 prior to the nine-day Player Movement Window, the Sixers recruited two more players during this period after securing the services of Fergus O’Neill (previously Renegades) and Ollie Davies (previously Thunder).
As the only club to have added players to their squad during the Player Movement Window, the Sixers are also the only organisation to have locked in eleven BBL players for next season.
Davies, set to join his brother Joel for the first time at the Sixers, is a player Haynes and the club are pretty excited to have acquired.
“He’s someone who’s got the ability to play a really exciting brand of cricket,” Haynes said.
“I think he’s a player who has a lot of upside, and he can certainly be explosive and dangerous through those middle overs and the back-end of a match. We think he’s definitely a player of the future.”
With more positions to fill on their squad list, Haynes identified one area the club could look to target in order to go one step further.
“Our strength this year clearly was with the ball,” Haynes said.
“From our side we’ll look at our batting and I think really look to add a bit of firepower to our lineup. I think we’ve got some really good domestic options within the team as well, so it’ll really be about just tuning up a bit of balance in our side.”
The Sixers are set to embark on a new Big Bash campaign without former coach Shipperd for the first time since BBL|04. During Shipperd’s tenure, the club reached six finals and won back-to-back titles in BBL|09 and BBL|10.
Noting the impact Shipperd has made on the Sixers, Haynes credited Shipperd’s exceptional record over a decade in the role.
“He’ll go down as one of the great Australian coaches,” Haynes said.
“His impact on domestic cricket right across the country, whether it’s for us or other sides that he’s worked with, I think it speaks for itself.
“It’s sad to see him go and that he’s not continuing with us, but I think the legacy that he leaves from a club perspective is probably one of the greatest that we’ll see in Big Bash and Australian cricket.”
Currently without a coach, the Sixers are also yet to re-sign their long-term captain for BBL|16.
Henriques, who recently became the first player to reach 150 BBL games, retired from first-class cricket last March and is set for back surgery.
When asked if the Sixers will look to re-sign the 39-year-old, Haynes said a decision would be made once the Sixers find a replacement for Shipperd.
“Working through the composition of our side and what we think is the best group of players to take us forward will definitely be a top-priority,” Haynes said.
“They’re the sort of questions we’ll work through once we’ve got the head coach in place and they’ve got the opportunity to really shape the list in conjunction with myself and our high performance staff.
“I want to make sure the coach has an opportunity to have a say in how that looks, so first and foremost, they’re the most important person to get in the building.”
