8.56pm Uh oh, sorry to be the party pooper, but play has been called off. No cricket tonight at Coffs Harbour. Abandoned, and both sides take 1.5 points each. Not the way any cricket fan wants to start the new year, but hey, that's how the cookie crumbles sometimes. That's all from our side today. See you tomorrow for more cricket. Stay safe, stay happy!
Mark : "Great outcome for the Gades. Our best result since Round 1!!"
Mitch: "Rain in NSW, who would've thought…"
Yousaf Khan: "Mohammad Nabi should bat at number 4. Best place for him to read the pitch first and after settling down show his class"
Dipanjan Show: "That essay reminds me, I got 16/20 in the 2021 year quiz. What's my prize?" -- You better Ask Steven! ;)
8.27pm Andrew McGlashan says "proper rain now. They are bringing out a big blowing device to try and dry the outfield." Kane Richardson on TV says, "doesn't look promising."
8.22pm Open umbrellas all around the ground. A reminder of the cut-off time: the game must start by 9.35pm local.
Comment: What did we learn from cricket in 2021? Our editor-in-chief Sambit Bal pens an essay and is worth your time.
feroz Hamdard: "Hi this is feroz hamdard from Afghanistan if Melbourne wants to win the match then chance to Mohammad nabi second position or one down "
7.52pm Oops, we spoke too soon. Looks like it is drizzling again. "Trouble is it [the water] is sitting right on top," says Steve O'Keefe to Fox Cricket. Drainage not so good, clearly. Doesn't help that its rained a fair bit today, about 25mm, and this ground isn't a "major cricketing" venue. Here's the rain radar
7.49pm The covers are coming off.
The umpires can be seen talking to the captains.
7.34pm Brendan: "Hi Folks, Brendan here based in Coffs. It's bucketing and looks set in, would be surprised if we got any action tonight." -- Hi Brendan! That's not too promising but I do have some news. Rain has stopped although the outfield is quite wet. Groundstaff are out trying to mop it up. Andrew McGlashan has whispered these updates.
Munro: "I live close to the ground - rain has been around on and off all day, it's still drizzling and is unlikely to stop anytime soon - cloud cover is near total, though there is a little bit of sunlight to the south of the stadium."
Tim: "Renegades have the only ground in the world it can't rain at " -- Ah yes, the Marvel/Docklands Stadium with a retractable roof. Cost the builders only 460 million AUD$ though!
7.15pm Bad news folks: the covers are back on. Looks like rain has come down.
7.01pm Dylan Sharma: "Nabi has been severely underutilized as a bowler in this edition of the BBL. Would love to see him open the bowling just to try something a bit different. He's done it many times before." -- It's a decent proposal but don't see it happening with two right-hand openers with the Sixers.
Curious why Nic Maddinson is not playing? Maddinson is with the Australia Test squad which is why he's not playing. Kane Richardson captain in his place for the Renegades.
6.49pm Toss Sydney Sixers win bat flip, bowl first.
Sixers XI: Josh Philippe (wk), James Vince, Moises Henriques (c), Daniel Hughes, Jordan Silk, Dan Christian, Sean Abbott, Hayden Kerr, Shadab Khan, Ben Dwarshuis, Steve O'Keefe. X-Factors: Todd Murphy, Jackson Bird -- Interestingly Jackson Bird is back, albeit as an X-Factor. He missed the first half due to an achilles tendon injury.
Renegades XI: Mackenzie Harvey, Sam Harper (wk), Aaron Finch, James Seymour, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mohammad Nabi, Will Sutherland, Jack Prestwidge, Kane Richardson (c), Reece Topley, Zahir Khan. X-Factors: Jono Merlo, Zak Evans
Benaud: "How's the weather holding up?" -- Good question. Sadly there's a rain band hovering around and it might impact the game. Fingers crossed!
6.35pm Happy new year everyone! It's a weird contest - top of the table vs the bottom of the table. On paper, that means the table-toppers start off as favourites, but not only is it a brand new year but it's also that big-city rivalry we all love to see. So even though Melbourne Renegades are last, they will need no extra motivation to beat Sydney Sixers. All of us believe in the mantra of "new year, new me", maybe that will serve well for the Renegades too!
Today's game is up at Coffs Harbour instead of the SCG since the Sydney Ashes Test will start soon. Will be interesting to see if that makes any difference to the Sixers, who have a 6-1 win record this season. As for the Renegades, they've suffered five straight losses after winning their first game. However, its the first time both sides are meeting this season, and for the sake of the BBL season, wouldn't it be nice for a bit of narrative change and add some spice to the points table?
Sit back and relax as we bring you all the toss news in a few minutes, my name is Sreshth Shah, and joining me today is Andrew McGlashan with Thilak Ram on scoring.
