Left-arm quick Mitchell Starc will play for Sydney Sixers in Saturday's Big Bash League final against the Perth Scorchers at the WACA ground but all-rounder Shane Watson's hopes of making an injury comeback are over.
Starc will join his team-mates in Perth on Friday after being released from his 12th man duties with Australia at the fourth Test in Adelaide.
Watson was hoping to make his return from the hamstring and calf injuries that have ruined his summer but the Sixers have confirmed he will not play.
All-rounder Moises Henriques said the 21-year-old's inclusion would be a big boost after he ripped through the Scorchers' top order at the SCG last week.
"Mitchell's stature now and the form he's been in, the way he's been bowling, it's a massive credit for us to have him back," he said.
"There's probably a couple of guys that are hoping they don't have to face him."
Organisers have announced the start will be delayed by 30 minutes to 5:00pm (AWST) with temperatures of 42 degrees Celsius forecast.
But Henriques feels his team-mates' experiences in India with New South Wales at September's Champions League will stand them in good stead in making the adjustment from cool and damp Sydney to red-hot Perth.
"It was quite hot over there in Chennai," Henriques said.
"It's three hours worth of cricket. If we have to sweat it out for a while I'm sure we can all cope with that."
Scorchers batsman Simon Katich agreed.
"[I've] played enough cricket over the years to know what it's like to play over here in the heat," he said.
"We've played a number of games here throughout the tournament obviously and played well at home and the crowd has been fantastic so that's a big plus for us.
"Hopefully we can put them under some pressure, particularly in the field."
The passionate Scorchers fans certainly showed they will not be put off by the extreme heat either, selling out tickets to the final just 16 minutes after they were released to the public on Wednesday morning.
The Sixers head to Perth on Thursday and will have a training run at the WACA on Friday afternoon.
AAP/ABC
Tags: sport, cricket, twenty20, perth-6000, wa, australia First posted January 25, 2012 16:51:59
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