RILEY Ayre’s desire to make his debut in the Sydney Sixers’ XI has been further fuelled by a thrilling first taste of the Big Bash League as 12th man on Thursday night.
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The 19-year-old Denman product fielded the final 16 overs of the Sixers’ five-wicket loss to the Strikers as the sold-out Adelaide Oval crowd was dazzled by Travis Head’s match-winning century.
Head smashed 101 off 53 balls to chase down the Sixers’ 5-176, after the home side required 55 off the last four overs, in one of the BBL’s most amazing performances.
“It was pretty crazy to watch,” Ayre said on Friday. “He was just hitting everything to boundary. It was a special innings. My first overs out there, I couldn’t believe the crowd and just how loud it was.”
Ayre was introduced in the fourth over when Michael Lumb succumbed to a hamstring injury.
The left-arm orthodox spinner showed his coolness under pressure by holding a catch at third man to dismiss Alex Ross.
“I was down on the boundary and there was a top edge and it went pretty high, so I was pretty nervous,” Ayre said. “I saw it pretty well, but it then got a bit hard to pick out in the crowd. Luckily enough it stuck.”
With Stephen O’Keefe in the Test squad, Ayre’s chances of making his debut have increased. However, the Sixers have signed Kiwi off-spinner Will Somerville as further cover.
“We’ve got the Scorchers tomorrow and I’m in the 13 again so I’ve just got to see which way they go with the final 11,” Ayre said.
