Big Bash League: Revisiting all the past winners
The 2017/18 Big Bash League is up and running with three matches already over. On Thursday, we saw the Hobart Hurricanes beating the Melbourne Renegades thanks to a terrific 79 from Cameron White and a brilliant spell of 5/28 from Dwayne Bravo.
The Big Bash League was established in 2011 and has had six seasons so far, with the current one being the tournament's seventh edition. So far, the previous six seasons have been won by four different teams. Let us take a look at the journey of the champions of each BBL season.
#6 2011/12 - Sydney Sixers
During the first season of the BBL, Sydney Sixers were coached by Trevor Bayliss and were captained by Brad Haddin. They had a pretty powerful team, consisting of the likes of Haddin Steve Smith, Dwayne Bravo, Brett Lee, Mitchell Starc and the experienced Stuart MacGill.
The Sixers began by winning the first ever BBL game against Brisbane Heat thanks to some terrific veteran performances. Haddin scored 77 with the bat as MacGill took 4/20 with the ball. However, the Sixers were easily beaten by the Hobart Hurricanes in their second match.
The Sixers won their third match by a narrow margin of 2 runs against Melbourne Stars. However, they were beaten convincingly by the Melbourne Renegades in their fourth game. This was to be their last defeat of the league as they won the remainder of their matches to end their table in third place and reached the semi-finals.
In the semi-finals, the Sixers were up against Hobart Hurricanes and avenged their earlier defeat by beating them by 7 runs. In the final, the Sydney Sixers were up against the Perth Scorchers. The Scorchers batted first and put up 156 on the board thanks to Mitchell Marsh’s 77. The Sixers’ run-chase began brilliantly by Moises Henriques and Steve O’Keefe as the duo added 110 for the first wicket. Henriques departed on 70 but the match was more or less over by then.
Some late hard-hitting by stand-in skipper Steve Smith took the Sixers over the line with more than an over remaining. Nic Maddinson was Sydney Sixers’ top-scorer and the 5th overall with 275 runs at an average of 30.55. Mitchell Starc was the pick of the bowlers with 13 wickets at an average of just 13.53. He was the joint third highest wicket-taker of the tournament.