Australia’s left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc made his long-awaited return to the Big Bash League (BBL) after an absence of 11 years. However, the veteran fast bowler, playing for Sydney Sixers, conceded 15 runs in his opening over, with Sydney Thunder captain David Warner hitting a six on the third ball.
Starc played a key role in Australia’s Ashes 2025–26 success, finishing the series with 31 wickets and winning the Player of the Series award. He took over the responsibility of leading the pace attack in the absence of Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins. Notably, the bowler has already retired from T20 Internationals.
Mitchell Starc gave 15 runs in the first BBL over in 11 years, David Warner hit a six.
Mitchell Starc came to bowl the second over of Sydney Thunder’s innings. David Warner hit him for a six and the pair along with Matthew Gilkes scored 15 runs in the over, putting the Thunder in a strong position during the powerplay and entertaining the Sydney Sixers fans.
Collide!
David Warner hits Mitch Starc for a six #bbl15 pic.twitter.com/YTVGi55QnA
– KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) 16 January 2026
Mitch Starc’s first over in the Big Bash in 11 seasons went for just 15 runs. #bbl15 pic.twitter.com/JDmTPCKxqQ
– KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) 16 January 2026
Starc later responded by achieving success in his next spell. In the sixth over, he dismissed Gilkes, who tried to bowl the full ball but failed to clear mid-off. Moises Henriques completed a diving catch to end the partnership, giving Starc his first wicket of the match as Gilkes was out for 12 runs from 12 balls.
David Warner’s century pushes Sydney Thunder to 189/6 against Sydney Sixers
David Warner batted brilliantly to take Sydney Thunder to 189/6 against Sydney Sixers at the SCG on Friday, January 16. Opening the batting, Warner controlled the innings from the start and the Sixers faced a difficult target.
Warner and Matthew Gilkes gave the Thunder a great start and reached 49/0 by the end of the powerplay. Mitchell Starc gave the first success by dismissing Gilkes for 12 runs in the sixth over, ending the 56-run partnership.
After some struggle from Sam Konstas, Warner continued to dominate and completed his half-century in just 25 balls. Sam Billings added 14 runs before being dismissed, after which Nick Maddinson joined Warner. In the 14th over, Thunder took a power surge and scored 38 runs.
Warner completed his second century of the season off 61 balls and remained unbeaten on 110 off 65 balls. Maddinson contributed 26 runs, while Daniel Sams added a quick 10 runs in four balls. Sam Curran took three wickets for the Sixers, while Starc, Jack Edwards and Ben Manenti took one wicket each.
Playing XI of Sydney Thunder vs Sydney Sixers
sydney thunder: David Warner (captain), Sam Konstas, Matthew Gilkes, Sam Billings (w), Nick Maddinson, Aidan O’Connor, Daniel Sams, Chris Green, Tanvir Sangha, Ryan Hadlee, Wes Agar
sydney sixers: Steven Smith, Babar Azam, Josh Philippe (w), Moises Henriques (c), Sam Curran, Lachlan Shaw, Jack Edwards, Joel Davis, Ben Manenti, Sean Abbott, Mitchell Starc.
Also read: RCB spends ₹4.5 crore on AI monitoring to get control over Chinnaswamy after stampede