The Melbourne Stars have revealed that Sunday’s game with the Perth Scorchers will proceed with six replacement players signed and the likes of Marcus Stoinis and Adam Zampa ruled out.

UPDATES

First things first, the Melbourne Stars provided an update late on New Year’s Day confirming Sunday’s game against the Perth Scorchers would go ahead, despite having 10 COVID-19 cases within the playing squad.

“The Stars would like to thank Cricket Australia in ensuring that tomorrow’s match against the Perth Scorchers at the CitiPower Centre will still take place,” the club wrote. “The final squad for the match will be announced on Sunday morning.”

TEAM NEWS

The Stars listed a 13-man squad on MyCricket for Sunday’s game against the Scorchers with a raft of new replacement players.

The newcomers are batsmen Justin Avendano, Lachlan Bangs ($42k BAT), Tom F Rogers ($42k BAT) and Charlie Wakim ($42k BAT), wicketkeeper-bat Patrick Rowe plus paceman Xavier Crone ($42k BWL).

Avendano is an opening batsman who has BBL experience with the Sydney Sixers. He has been in top form in NSW Premier Cricket this season as the comp’s top scorer, with 434 runs in six knocks and a century in the T20 Cup for UTS North Sydney.

Bangs is an all-rounder type who bats anywhere. He has made 136 runs and taken three wickets in five games this season for Prahran in Victorian Premier Cricket. He scored two centuries batting middle-order last season.

Rogers is the leading run scorer in Victorian Premier Cricket this season with 551 runs in five innings for Ringwood including 200* against Prahan. He has three centuries this season as an opener. He’s taken four wickets.

Rowe is a 20-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman who has scored 283 runs in five knocks in Victorian Premier Cricket for St Kilda this season where he has opened the batting in first grade. He’s yet to debut for Victoria.

Right-arm top-order batsman Wakim is a 30-year-old who has played at state level for Tasmania and was previously a Hobart Hurricanes replacement player. He has 373 runs in nine knocks for Lindisfarne in Tasmania this season.

Right-arm fast medium bowler Crone took 24 wickets in 17 games in Victorian Premier Cricket last season for Carlton and played three times for Victoria last year taking four wickets in his Sheffield Shield debut in November.

Among the absentees are Joe Burns ($84k BAT), Nathan Coulter-Nile ($134k BWL), Sam Elliott ($42k BWL), Clint Hinchliffe ($60k BAT/BWL), Nick Larkin ($103k BAT), Peter Nevill ($61k WKP/BAT), Sam Rainbird ($93k BWL), Beau Webster ($43K BAT), Adam Zampa ($110k BWL) and Marcus Stoinis ($81k BAT/BWL).

The Scorchers also have had a confirmed COVID-19 case, with Nick Hobson ($42k BAT) out while Matt Kelly ($159k BWL) has returned a negative test but is a close contact and must isolate, ruling him out of the game, along with Australia call-ups Mitch Marsh ($244k BAT/BWL) and Josh Inglis ($86k WKP/BAT).

The club wrote on Sunday morning: “Hobson reported symptoms on Saturday morning and was confirmed as having COVID-19 with a PCR test result overnight.

“Kelly and batting coach Beau Casson, however, remain in isolation as a precaution due to the contact they’ve had with individuals confirmed to have had COVID-19.”

Stars: Glenn Maxwell (c), Qais Ahmad, Justin Avendano, Lachlan Bangs, Hilton Cartwright, Joe Clarke, Brody Couch, Xavier Crone, Tom O’Connell, Haris Rauf, Tom F Rogers, Patrick Rowe, Charlie Wakim

Scorchers: Turner (c), Agar, Bancroft, Behrendorff, Evans, Hardie, Hatzoglou, Mills, Moody, Morris, Munro, Patterson, Tye

The Sydney Thunder, who have also lost Alex Ross ($105k BAT), Alex Hales ($104k BAT), Tanveer Sangha ($141k BWL) and Sam Whiteman ($52k BAT) to COVID-19, have named a 17-man squad to play Adelaide Strikers on Sunday night.

Thunder have added Pakistani quick Muhammad Hasnain ($125k BWL) for the first time along with Jono Cook ($91k BWL) and Baxter Holt ($62k BAT/WKP).

The Strikers confirmed their 14-man squad to play the Thunder, with Henry Hunt ($42k BAT) and Liam Scott ($52k BAT/BWL) coming in and Daniel Drew ($43k BAT) dropping out.

Thunder: Billings, Cook, Cutting, Davies, Doggett, Gilkes, Green (c), Hasnain, Hearne, Holt, Mahmood, McAndrew, Nair, Sams, Sandhu, J.Sangha, Tremain

Strikers: Siddle (c), Agar, Fawad Ahmed, Garton, Hunt, Kelly, Rashid Khan, Nielsen, Renshaw, Scott, Short, Weatherald, Wells, Worrall

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