Rain Halts Steve Smith’s Sixers Return at SCG as BBL and WPL Captaincy Calls Steal the Spotlight in Cricket’s Busy Week

Sydney was ready for Steve Smith’s Big Bash League comeback. Then the weather played captain.

Only five overs were possible at the SCG before the covers came on and the Sydney Sixers and Hobart Hurricanes were left to split points, a frustrating non-contest that still offered a quick snapshot of how tense the game within the game can be when conditions dictate every decision.

Key facts: Smith’s return fixture for the Sixers at the SCG never got beyond a five-over tease, with rain shutting down any chance of a proper chase or a meaningful contest. The shared points keep both sides moving, but it also robs the Sixers of valuable time to settle their combinations around a star batter who changes matchups simply by walking out.

And that’s the part casual fans miss. Even in a handful of overs, captains are reading the situation: how wet is the outfield, how tacky is the surface, how much skid is there for the quicks? In shortened games, powerplay plans become the whole innings. You don’t “build” an over; you steal it.

That same clarity was on show in Perth, where the Perth Scorchers sealed a six-wicket win over the Melbourne Stars at Perth Stadium with a clinical all-round performance. Jhye Richardson’s value in those conditions isn’t just wickets—it’s control. When a captain knows a bowler can hit a hard length under lights and still keep the hit zones protected, the field can be set aggressively: a catcher in, a deep option for the miscued pull, and a ring that squeezes singles so the batter feels they must go over the top. One choice, three pressures.

But the WPL has been the sharpest classroom for modern captaincy this week. At the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, UP Warriorz Women beat Mumbai Indians Women by 22 runs in a run-filled match, and the margin told its own story: defendable totals now depend on when you attack, not just how. Give a set batter freebies and they’ll be knocking it around at will; miss the moment to bring your best matchup and you’re beaten all ends up.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women underlined that principle in their win over Delhi Capitals Women at the same venue, built on a commanding bowling display. Think about what that signals: captains backing their bowlers to win specific overs, then placing fielders to turn “good balls” into dot-ball chains. It’s not random. It’s setting up the batsman—two balls into the pitch with protection square, then the fuller one with a straight boundary rider exactly where the drive wants to go.

The broader cricket calendar is humming too, with the India vs New Zealand ODI series locked at 1-1 heading into a finale that will be decided by selection calls and middle-overs tactics. Do you stack spin to strangle, or pick pace to break partnerships? Do you hold a strike bowler back for a particular batter, or take wickets early and trust the bench later? Those are captain’s questions. And they echo across formats.

Why does all this matter? Because stars like Steve Smith and Finn Allen don’t just add runs—they force captains to redraw fields and rethink bowling sequences. One batter changes the whole map.

What’s next is simple: clearer skies need to return so the Sixers can actually build around Smith, while the BBL’s in-form sides keep testing whether control bowling—of the Jhye Richardson type—still beats raw hitting when pressure rises. And in the WPL and ODIs, expect captains to keep winning matches in the margins. One over. One field move. One brave matchup.