This SCG pitch report starts with the scoring, because Sydney is a harder place to post a huge Big Bash total than the Gabba or Adelaide Oval. Across Big Bash League history, completed first innings here have averaged about 160, and roughly 170 over the last three seasons (BBL|13 to BBL|15). That makes 165 to 175 a competitive score. Above 200 has been close to decisive: to the end of BBL|15 in January 2026, all seven first-innings totals of 200-plus at the SCG had been defended.
Pace or spin? Both have a role. The SCG is still known as one of Australia's most spin-friendly Test grounds, and by share of wickets it still is, but recent Test pitches have been greener and seamers have taken most of the wickets. In T20 cricket, hard-length seamers lead the wicket lists, and spinners who bowl tight still earn their overs.
Quick verdict
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Batting or bowling? | Fairly even; scores run lower than at the Gabba or Adelaide Oval |
| Pace or spin? | Seam with the new ball; spin and change-ups still useful in the middle overs |
| Good BBL first-innings score | 165–175 is competitive; 190+ is strong |
| Bat first or chase? | Close over BBL history; chasers won 6 of 8 decided games in BBL|14 and BBL|15 |
| Test pitches lately | Greener than the old Sydney turner; the side batting second won in 2024, 2025 and 2026 |
| BBL|16 games at the SCG | 22 Dec, 26 Dec, 10 Jan and 15 Jan |
The Sydney Cricket Ground at a glance
The SCG is at Moore Park in Sydney. It hosted its first Test in 1882 and holds about 48,000 people. The NSW Government owns it and Venues NSW runs it. It is home to the Sydney Sixers' men's and women's teams, New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield, and Australia's New Year Test.
As of 2026, the SCG and the Gabba are two of the main Australian Test grounds that still use pitches grown in the square rather than drop-ins, as the Sydney Cricket Ground's Wikipedia entry notes. The square is Bulli soil, which has traditionally produced turning wickets. The biggest BBL crowd at the ground was 43,153, for the BBL|13 final in January 2024, when the Brisbane Heat beat the Sixers.
Sydney Thunder split their home games between Sydney Showground Stadium and Manuka Oval in Canberra, so every BBL|16 league game at the SCG is a Sixers home game:
- Sixers v Melbourne Renegades, 22 December 2026
- Sixers v Brisbane Heat, Boxing Day (26 December)
- Sixers v Perth Scorchers, 10 January 2027 (an afternoon start)
- Sixers v Sydney Thunder, 15 January 2027
The SCG is unavailable in the run-up to the Test that starts on 4 January, so the Sixers' home game against the Adelaide Strikers on 3 January is at Manuka Oval. The international schedule adds the fourth men's T20I against England on 29 November 2026 and the fourth Test against New Zealand from 4 to 8 January 2027, per Cricket Australia's 2026-27 schedule.
SCG pitch report: how the pitch plays in the BBL and T20s
Every BBL figure in this section runs through BBL|15, the season that ended in January 2026.
Over BBL history, the SCG has been close to a coin flip. Of 71 matches, teams setting a target won 32 and teams chasing won 34, with two ties and three no-results. Recent seasons have tilted towards the chase: in BBL|14 and BBL|15 combined, chasing sides won six of the eight decided games. Big chases are rare, though. The biggest successful BBL chase at the ground is the Sixers' 198/2 against the Melbourne Stars on Boxing Day 2024, and nobody has chased 200 here.
BBL|15 shows the usual range. First-innings totals went from 144 to 198, and the standout chase came on 16 January 2026. Sydney Thunder made 189/6 with David Warner unbeaten on 110, and the Sixers won with 16 balls to spare after Steve Smith hit 100 off 42 balls.
Seamers dominate the wicket lists. Sean Abbott has taken 90 BBL wickets at the SCG, more than anyone else. Left-arm spinner Steve O'Keefe is third with 45, at an economy rate of 6.44, the lowest of the top three.
T20 internationals follow a similar pattern. In 19 men's T20Is at the ground, the side batting first won 10 and the chasing side seven, with one tie and one no-result. The 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final here was a low-scoring game, with Pakistan chasing down New Zealand's 152/4.
One-day cricket at the SCG
In ODIs, setting a target has worked well. The side batting first won nine of the ten ODIs here from December 2016 to October 2025. The exception was the most recent one: India chased 237 for the loss of one wicket in October 2025, with Rohit Sharma unbeaten on 121. Since 2016, first-innings totals have ranged from 236 to 389, and seven of the eleven were above 280.
Test cricket: is it still a spinner's ground?
Shane Warne (64) and Stuart MacGill (53) have taken more Test wickets at the SCG than anyone. Ahead of the January 2026 Ashes Test, cricket.com.au's SCG pitch preview reported that since 2022-23 just under one wicket in five at the SCG had gone to spin. That share is level with Perth Stadium as the highest in the country, so in relative terms the SCG still suits spin. The same preview called the spin-haven reputation somewhat dated, and noted that cracks in drier conditions can also help seam bowlers.
The last two Tests show the range:
- January 2025 v India: a grassy, seamer-friendly pitch, and the match was over in three days. Scott Boland took ten wickets and Australia won by six wickets. The ICC rated the pitch "satisfactory".
- January 2026 v England: a run-heavy match. Joe Root made 160, Travis Head 163 and Jacob Bethell 154. Australia replied to 384 with 567 and then chased 160 to win by five wickets.
The results have also changed. All three SCG Tests from 2021 to 2023 were drawn. The next three, in 2024, 2025 and 2026, were all won by Australia batting second. The SCG's New Year Test is traditionally the McGrath Foundation's "Pink Test", held annually since 2009 to raise money for breast care nurses. The January 2027 match against New Zealand is a red-ball day Test, and Cricket Australia's schedule rules out any pink-ball game against the Kiwis in 2026-27.
Scores and records at the SCG
These are men's records, checked after the January 2026 Ashes Test.
| Format | Top score | Lowest total (all out) | Highest chase won |
|---|---|---|---|
| BBL | 220/3, Sixers v Scorchers, Jan 2025 | 61, Stars v Sixers, Dec 2021 | 198/2, Sixers v Stars, Dec 2024 |
| T20I | 221/5, Australia v England, Jan 2007 | 101, Bangladesh v South Africa, Oct 2022 | 200/3, India v Australia, Jan 2016 |
| ODI | 408/5, South Africa v West Indies, Feb 2015 | 63, India v Australia, Jan 1981 | 334/8, Australia v England, Feb 2011 |
| Test | 705/7d, India v Australia, Jan 2004 | 42, Australia v England, 1888 | 288/2, Australia v South Africa, Jan 2006 |
Michael Clarke's 329 not out against India in January 2012 is the highest Test score at the ground.
Weather, time of day and the surface
Most BBL games at the SCG start in the evening, but the 10 January fixture against Perth starts in the afternoon. Rain has been a factor lately. Two of the Sixers' last ten BBL games at the ground ended without a result, including the January 2026 game against Hobart, which was washed out after five overs.
A grown pitch can change across a long game. Before the January 2026 Ashes Test, Australian off-spinner Todd Murphy said a recent first-class match there had batted well for a day and a half before cracks appeared and the game sped up. That matters far more in a five-day Test than in a three-hour T20.
Reading a Sydney match with CricGuru
Getting a prediction takes three steps:
- Open the fixture from the live and upcoming matches page once it is listed.
- Sign in. A new account gets a few free predictions as a one-time trial, and the Pro and Elite plans lift that cap.
- Request the prediction. You get a win probability and an AI-written match preview.
That probability is built from four things: each side's recent form, their head-to-head record, league-table strength measured in points per game, and a small allowance for home advantage. The model doesn't look at the pitch, the venue, the weather or the toss, which is where this page comes in. For a close call on a Sixers home game, weigh the SCG's lower scoring and the fact that no 200-plus first innings has been chased here. If rain is forecast, a shortened game is more likely. For a fuller method that combines form, matchups and conditions, read how to predict cricket matches.
FAQ
Does the SCG favour batters or bowlers?
Neither by much. The BBL first-innings average is about 160 over the league's history and about 170 in recent seasons, both lower than at the Gabba or Adelaide Oval, so bowlers stay in the game longer here.
Does the SCG still help spinners?
Yes, compared with other Australian grounds. From 2022-23 up to the January 2026 Ashes Test, just under one Test wicket in five at the SCG went to spin, level with Perth Stadium for the highest share in the country. That is still less help than its old reputation suggests, and seamers won the January 2025 Test against India. In T20s, spinners who bowl tight still do a job.
How many runs is enough in a T20 at the SCG?
In the BBL, 165 to 175 is competitive and 190-plus is a strong total. To the end of BBL|15, every first-innings total of 200 or more at the ground had been defended, and the highest successful chase was 198.
Is the SCG a drop-in pitch?
No. Along with the Gabba, it is one of the main Australian Test grounds that still grows its pitches in the square.
When are the BBL|16 games at the SCG?
The published fixture lists four Sixers home games at the SCG: 22 December and 26 December 2026, and 10 January and 15 January 2027. The 15 January game is the Sydney derby against the Thunder.
Next stop on the Australian summer
Scoring at the SCG runs lower than in Brisbane or Adelaide, and its BBL first-innings average is the lowest of the three. To compare, see how pace and bounce shape the Gabba pitch report, why short square boundaries matter in our Adelaide Oval guide, and how the drop-in surface plays in the MCG pitch report.