AN INCREDIBLE unbeaten century from English batter James Vince has helped Sydney Sixers remain undefeated and their opponents Melbourne Stars winless following an eight-wicket victory in the Harbour City last night.

There was no shortage of ‘Bazball’ on display throughout the night with Vince’s compatriot Ben Duckett smashing an impressive 68 off 29 for the Stars earlier in the evening as the winless cellar dwellers hit a respective 9-194 from their 20 overs. However despite a slow start, the Sixers built into their innings and took full advantage of their Power Surge to cruise home with 11 balls to spare but still eight wickets in hands.

The Sixers won the toss but Sydney skipper Moises Henriques sent the Stars in to bat first. It took just five balls for Tom Rogers to find his power, smashing a boundary and then one over the fence as the visitors finished the first over at 0-13.

Luckily for the Sixers, Rogers’ hard hitting would come to an end just a few balls later when he top edged a ball to midwicket off Akeal Hossein which was safely held by Vince. Sam Harper joined Duckett at the crease and the pair went about building a strong start to the innings, including seven consecutive boundaries – six in over four to Duckett – to end the Power Play at a jaw-dropping 1-57.

After being punished through the first four overs, the next three were relatively successful as Todd Murphy claimed Harper’s wicket with the first drop batsman hitting a run per ball off a dozen balls. Glenn Maxwell came in and joined Duckett in the smash fest, but, after five consecutive shots either went to or over the boundary, the Englishman was caught by Murphy off Bird and stopped for 68 off 29 balls.

The loss of Duckett stemmed the runs, with the Sixers reaching 2-106 prior to his wicket, and it was tough going from there. The run rate dropped from 11.78 to under 10, as the Sixers cleaned up the middle and tail without too much damage. Even the Power Surge only gained the Stars a further 16 runs, and with Jackson Bird (3-35) the key bowler, the Sixers set themselves a gettable target.

Funnily enough the home side only really needed one man, with Vince blowing away the opposition in a brutal knock. It did not start in a blaze of glory, with the Sixers crawling to 0-35 off the Power Play, some 22 runs behind the Stars at the same point. Even by the halfway mark the Sixers were shy of the ton (1-96).

Thankfully given the loss of wickets, Vince had got his eye in and despite his skipper Henriques gone midway through the 10th over – and the score at 2-101 with 54 balls to play – he started to tick over the runs. Double-digit runs over the next few overs followed as Vince made light work of Australian representatives in Peter Siddle and Maxwell.

He and James Silk combined for a massive 25 runs in the 15th over, which included two sixes and three fours. Coming into the last three overs, the pair needed to make an additional 14 runs, and when Silk smashed yet another off the front foot out of the park, the deficit had already been made up and scores were level.

Vince had already surpassed the ton in the 17th over, so it was Silk’s turn to hit the winning runs. In fitting fashion, rather than just hitting a safe single to score the victory, the Sixers batsman timed a perfect pull shot past deep mid wicket to the boundary. It resulted in the Sixers skirting past the required total and finishing on 2-198.

The result means Sydney Sixers move to 3-0 for the season thus far, while the Stars remain anchored to the bottom of the table as the only side without a win (0-4). Melbourne will host Sydney Thunder tomorrow, while the Sixers will head to Brisbane to tackle the Heat on Sunday.

SCORECARD

RESULT: Sixers won by 8 wickets with 11 balls to spare
POTM: James Vince (Sydney Sixers)
BAT FLIP: Sixers won and elected to bowl

Melbourne Stars 9-194 (20)
Ben Duckett 68 (29), Glenn Maxwell 32 (17)
Jackson Bird 3-35 (3), Todd Murphy 2-26 (4), Ben Dwarshuis 2-33 (4)

Sydney Sixers 2-198 (18.1)
James Vince 101* (58), Josh Philippe 42 (23), Jordan Silk* (19)
Tom Curran 1-39 (3), Usama Mir 1-43 (4)

INNINGS BREAKDOWN:

Power Play (1-4):
Stars: 1-57
Sixers: 0-35

Halfway (10):
Stars: 3-116
Sixers: 1-96

Power Surge:
Stars (11-12): 3-116 to 4-132 (1-16)
Sixers (14-15): 2-124 to 2-159 (0-35)

Totals:
Stars: 9-194 (20)
Sixers: 2-198 (18.1)

SQUADS

Sydney Sixers: Akeal Hosein, Ben Dwarshuis, Hayden Kerr, Jack Edwards, Jackson Bird, James Vince, Jordan Silk, Josh Philippe (wk), Lachlan Shaw, Moises Henriques (c), Todd Murphy

Melbourne Stars: Ben Duckett, Doug Warren, Glenn Maxwell, Hilton Cartwright, Jonathan Merlo, Marcus Stoinis (c), Peter Siddle, Sam Harper (wk), Tom Curran, Tom Rogers, Usama Mir

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