In the 2026 Big Bash League, the Sydney Sixers suffered a massive six-wicket defeat to the Perth Scorchers, who won their title for the sixth time. Following that, Greg Shipperd, the coach of the Sixers, trashed the hectic travel schedule of the tournament.

 

According to a report by ESPNCricinfo, Shipperd called out how the team could not have a decent practice session before they walked out for the final match against the Scorchers. 

 

The team played three high-pressure matches in different cities within a few days: they lost a Qualifier in Perth, flew back to Sydney to win the Challenger on Friday night, then travelled again to Perth on Saturday for Sunday’s final. Because of this tight schedule, captain Moises Henriques was concerned about preparation and even skipped a media event to focus on recovery.

 

In the final, the Sixers appeared underprepared or fatigued. They were bowled out for a low score of 132, and the Scorchers then chased aggressively, reaching 80 runs without losing a wicket by the ninth over, putting the match firmly in their control early. When asked about the hectic schedule, Shippered said,

 

"It wasn't ideal. Some of the scheduling was not what we were looking for. You don't get a chance to train the day before the game, which I would have thought not many other sports are letting that happen at this elite level."

 

Sixers expecting national holiday leave for recovery

 

Shipperd even jokingly reminded teams to give feedback, which they claimed to have given to Cricket Australia.

 

"We'll feed some feedback back to headquarters. I think we were the only team that provided feedback to Cricket Australia [earlier this season]. So I don't know whether other teams are lazy in that respect or we were thinking that we were going to be playing finals, and so we were worrying about that sort of thing."

 

The team even expected a holiday on Australia Day. This means the final could have been delayed to Monday, which the Sixers would have happily accepted, with the team getting "that sort of break to freshen up going into the game."

 

Sixers expected a rain halt

 

The rain invaded the final match and went heavy in the fourth over. But what went shocking was that the umpires still allowed the match to be played. Shipperd, regarding that, said,

 

"We thought that there was an opportunity to come off," Shipperd said.  "The umpires, I think, may have set a benchmark down in Hobart [in the knockout match on Wednesday] where they played through blinding rain.

 

"They probably played that same card tonight, when there may have been a possibility to come off and just reset, let the ground settle down in terms of the wetness of the ball."

 

After the match, on the TV, Steve Smith also criticized the Umpires' attitude on continuing the match despite the heavy rain.