Optus Stadium pitch report: Perth Cricket Stadium pitch report SCO vs SIX BBL today match

The sixth match of the ongoing Big Bash League 2022-23 will take place at the Optus Stadium in Perth today, between the previous season finalists Perth Scorchers and the Sydney Sixers.

Set to play their first match of the ongoing season today, the defending champions Scorchers have quite a few concerns to deal with ahead of their campaign this time around.

Renowned T20 stars in Mitchell Marsh and Phil Salt have been ruled out due to injuries, while their previous season batting stars in Kurtis Patterson and Colin Munro have departed from the franchise.

They will however, have the services of the former Proteas skipper Faf du Plessis during the initial few matches, with wicket-keeper batter Josh Inglis and Cameron Bancroft to shoulder much of the responsibility.

The Sixers, on the other hand, were humbled by the Adelaide Strikers during their opening match by 51 runs, after their reputed batting line-up failed to chase down the target of 185 runs. They will look to open their account today, while expecting their experienced batters in Josh Philippe, Moises Henriques, James Vince et al to deliver.

Optus Stadium pitch report

The Optus Stadium in Perth has overall been a conducive one for the batters. Across the 28 T20 matches at this venue since 2019, the average score stands at 159.4.

Having said that, the surface here has also offered significant purchase to the fast bowlers. The English left-arm pacer Sam Curran recently bagged a five-wicket haul at this very venue against Afghanistan during the T20 World Cup 2022.

Moreover, across the 7 T20Is (6 of them this year) here, the average first innings score registered is mere 134, with the bowlers having majority of the say with the new ball and the bounce on offer at this track. Also, teams chasing have won five of these seven matches.

All in all, one should expect an even contest with the bat and ball at the Perth Stadium today, with score in the vicinity of the 160-run mark likely to be a winning total.