THE ARRIVAL of Steve Smith to the Sydney Sixers had entertainment written all over it, and Tuesday night’s win over the Adelaide Strikers emphasised that, with the all-time great reaching triple figures in Coffs Harbour.

Smith came out firing and racked up the first ever ton by a Sixers player in the men’s side, smacking 101 off just 56 deliveries in a seriously heavy hitting performance. With Sydney forking out 250k to acquire his services, it now seems a bargain if he can deliver performances such as this.

The Sixers were too good for the Strikers, posting an impressive opening innings total of 203, and Adelaide fell well short of the required score, and fell by 59 runs in the end.

The Strikers won the toss and chose to bowl, and were given immediate reward for that decision when Matt Short clean bowled Sixers opener Josh Phillippe for just one run. However, Smith proved to be the biggest challenge for the Adelaide bowling attack, as he was timing his shots to perfection and his shot selection was in tip-top shape. It was a different Steve Smith than we were used to, with the star batsman taking on the bowler at almost every opportunity. He smacked a whopping seven sixes to go with five fours and reach a century in just over 50 balls, bringing it up in style by smacking his seventh maximum on 95.

Although it was an exceptional performance from the superstar, it ended in a sour note as he was dismissed almost immediately after in disappointing fashion. Skipper Moises Henriques came out to the crease looking to get Smith on strike as much as possible, but turned the centurion back when he was midway up the crease, and ‘Smudge’ was run out. Despite the unfortunate dismissal, Smith set up his side for a big score, with the pressure all on the Strikers.

In the second innings, Adelaide got off to a poor start when Travis Head was dismissed for just five runs, although Short and Alex Carey did their best to get the side back on track. However, they were the only two players to score in double-digits. The Strikers were bowled out for just 144 runs, very shy of the total required.

Smith was deservingly named player of the match for his powerhouse performance, producing one of the best knocks of BBL12. Kurtis Patterson also played a key role, forming a nice partnership with the match’s top scorer to finish on 43 runs from 33 balls. Jordan Silk smacked them around to close out Sydney’s time at the crease on his way to 31 runs from just 16 balls. From a bowling perspective, Ben Dwarshius and Todd Murphy picked up three wickets each to rip apart the Adelaide batting lineup.

Carey was the pick of the bunch from a disappointing batting performance from the Strikers, working hard to reach a half-century and finishing on 54 runs from 35 deliveries. Short was also valiant in defeat, starting the innings strong to smack 40 from 24 balls as the pair fought bravely to carry the side’s scoring output.

SCORECARD

RESULT: Sydney Sixers (5/203) def. Adelaide Strikers (144)
POTM: Steve Smith (Sydney Sixers)
TOSS: Adelaide Strikers won the toss and opted to bowl

KEY PLAYERS

Sydney Sixers:
Steve Smith (101), Kurtis Patterson (43)
Ben Dwarshius (3/28), Todd Murphy (3/35)

Adelaide Strikers:
Alex Carey (54), Matt Short (40)
Wes Agar (2/48)