Sixers players will wear inspirational words chosen by cancer patients on the backs of their shirts in Tuesday's clash with the Melbourne Stars as part of their partnership with the Sony Foundation.
In a Big Bash first the inspirational words will replace the players' surnames, and each shirt will be signed by the players and auctioned off with all proceeds raised to be donated to the foundation's youth cancer program 'You Can'.
West Indian Carlos Brathwaite will be adorned with the words "Faith, Hope Love", Sean Abbott will wear "Family, Friends, Faith" while English import Joe Denly carries "Motivation, Laugh, #screwcancer".
Cancer patients Nicolas McKenzie and Zoie Moore helped launch the heart-warming initiative with Abbott and Brathwaite at the SCG on Monday ahead of the Stars match where the Sixers are chasing a fourth-straight win to end the season.
"We were none from six games and thought the world was crashing all around us but at the end of the day we just play a game, the world spins no matter what goes on on the park," Abbott said.
"To see these guys put on a brave smile considering what they're going through, it's motivating and just gives you a reminder to keep smiling no matter what life throws at you.
"There's other people that are doing it tough, [it's important] just to stick by each other and support each other through those tough times."
Abbott has experienced the disease first hand. His step father lost his dad to pancreatic cancer a few years ago, and now his step dad's mother is battling the same disease.
Brathwaite has also witnessed the ravages of cancer, having watched his mother Joycelyn successfully undergo treatment for breast cancer.
"I've suffered the cancer experience from up close with my mum, I know what it takes, the constant supervision needed and the constant encouragement," Brathwaite said.
"It was pretty bad to begin with, first night she told me...I couldn't take her smiling and me wanting to cry all the time.
"She was always positive, always smiling so for me it was just support as she needed anything. Unfortunately I was away most the time so I shaved my hair off in support when she was going through chemo, little gestures like that help so people don't think that they're in it by themselves.
"It's not always the money, it's not always the fanfare. It's about the days when no one is there and that person just needs to say hello, or send a message how you're doing, send a voice note, make a call, that's the most important support.
"When things like this happen, it's good for them because the patients realise people are there to help them. I'm happy to be a part of it and hopefully our contribution both on and off the field can go some way to helping them feel what they are, very very special human beings and very much a part of society."
