Curran, Smith and Starc carry Sydney Sixers to BBL Qualifier

In his last game of the season for the Sydney Sixers before turning out for England, Sam Curran led the way as his team stormed upwards to finish second and put themselves in the Qualifier. They will now face Perth Scorchers in that fixture on Tuesday (January 20).

Sydney Sixers and Brisbane Heat locked in on Sunday evening for a straight shootout as three teams had already qualified while three others were already eliminated. Before Curran's whirlwind half-century and more runs for Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc's four-wicket haul laid important groundwork for Sixers' victory.

Starc attacked the Heat all through. He was typically lethal first up, even if a tad lucky - Jack Wildermuth hit a full toss to cover but Matt Renshaw was sucked into fending at a ball that moved away. Two PowerPlay strikes and Heat were down to 18 for 3 in just the third over. In the 15th, he had a stroke of luck again as Jimmy Peirson mistimed a wide full-toss and hit to Curran at extra cover. Xavier Bartlett got a better ball as Starc took pace off and had him caught at mid-off to finish with 4 for 35. Heat still managed 171 as Nathan McSweeney batted through from No.3 for his 54-ball 69* and Michael Neser swung for the fences from No. 8, with a 14-ball 35 that included five fours and two sixes. Heat went from 96 for 5 in 14 overs to 171 for 9 in 20, with two overs fetching 16 each and one 18.

They carried that spring to their steps into the second innings and even made a bright start with the PowerPlay wickets of Babar Azam and Josh Philippe but Steven Smith took the spot front and centre once more, following up his century heroics. Two strong partnerships - 43 off 34 with Moises Henriques and 60 off 40 with Curran pushed Heat back once more. The trio ensured the Sixers were ahead of the asking rate in the first half. Heat then tried to hit the brakes on the scoring with a few quiet overs. Xavier Bartlett and Zaman Khan did a fabulous job in the Power Surge (15th and 16th over) conceding only 8 and 5 respectively. Zaman also dismissed Smith for a 40-ball 54, but even without being too flashy, Sixers remained in control.

The equation was down to 35 off 24, the balance still tilting in Sixers' favour. Neser conceded 7 in the 17th over, and didn't quite disturb that balance. Curran however, blew it to smithereens in the 18th, hitting two sixes off Matthew Kuhnemann and reaching his half-century off just 26 deliveries. With 11 to get off 12, the penultimate over read: 4, 6, W, 6 as Lachlan Shaw departed with the scores level and Jack Edwards sealed the win with a big hit.

Brief Scores:Brisbane Heat 171/9 in 20 overs (Nathan McSweeney 69*, Michael Neser 35; Mitchell Starc 4-35, Sam Curran 2-37) lost to Sydney Sixers 177/5 in 18.4 overs (Sam Curran 53*, Steve Smith 54; Xavier Bartlett 2-32) by 5 wickets