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After being declared available for the Sydney Sixers’
inaugural game on December 8 against the Melbourne Renegades, Steven Smith will
make a brief comeback for the Sydney Sixers in the BBL 2023–24 season. After
the Pakistan Test series, the club hopes he’ll play in the Sydney derby as
well.
Smith scored 346 runs with a strike rate of 174.74 in
just five innings last season, including two explosive hundreds, the first by a
Sixers batter in the BBL, which had a significant influence on the Sixers.
Despite only making a few appearances, it placed him slightly outside the top
10 leading run scorers in the tournament.
His summer activities will be restricted by his
international commitments, but Sixers has added him to their roster, and he is
scheduled to play Renegades at the SCG before travelling to Perth in time for
the first Test matchup between Pakistan and Australia on December 14.
On January 12, Smith might make his second appearance
at the SCG against Sydney Thunder, the team’s crosstown rivals. This match
could pit Smith against David Warner, who is expected to retire from Test
cricket following the Pakistan series and become available for the BBL.
Smith’s responsibilities to Australia make it doubtful
that he will be available for any additional games, let alone the finals.
“The impact that Steve was able to make in such a
short time last season is testament to the kind of player he is,” Rachael
Haynes, the head coach of Sydney Sixers, said. “We have no doubt Sixers
fans can expect the same level of entertainment when he takes to the field
again this summer.”
Last season, Smith started the batting for the Sixers,
and he is doing the same in the T20I series against India, where he scored 52
runs in the first game. Prior to being forced to miss that tour due to a wrist
injury, he was scheduled to make his debut in South Africa earlier this year.
Despite fierce competition for the opening slots in the Australian team from
Warner, Travis Head, and Matt Short, he is eager to stay in this role in
preparation for the T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies next year.