SuperCoach BBL is open and the season proper is fast approaching. We appreciate it’s tough to stay across all the news this early, so we’ll aggregate all the important stuff in one spot each week in the lead-up to Round 1.
SIGNING NEWS
The Perth Scorchers made one of the biggest signings of the season, landing Faf du Plessis ($180k BAT) as a replacement for Laurie Evans. He’ll be available for their first seven games before he heads to the SA-20 in early January.
It’s unclear where he’ll slot into Perth’s batting order but Scorchers High Performance General Manager Kade Harvey said: “He can play in all conditions, bats anywhere in the top six… We believe his versatility, experience and leadership will be really valuable to our squad.”
The Brisbane Heat added Sam Hain ($105k BAT) as an international replacement player with Sam Billings and Colin Munro to exit in early January. Hain is an English middle-order batsman who made 388 runs in 13 innings with a strike rate of 161 in the 2022 T20 Blast for Birmingham Bears.
The Sydney Thunder brought in Pakistani leg-spinner Usman Qadir ($105k BWL) as they bolster their spinning options with Tanveer Sangha out injured. Head of Thunder Andrew Gilchrist said: “Usman joins us with plenty of experience, having represented Pakistan, and playing in T20 leagues around the world.” He was a reserve for Pakistan at the recent T20 World Cup.
The Melbourne Stars rounded out their roster with 20-year-old local batsman Campbell Kellaway ($42k BAT). He recently made his Sheffield Shield and Marsh Cup debuts for Victoria and has scored 267 runs in three Victoria Premier Cricket games for Melbourne this season.
The Adelaide Strikers confirmed the re-signing of BBL|11 leading wicket taker Peter Siddle ($151k BWL), while the Thunder re-signed Gurinder Sandhu ($148k BWL).
Check out our list of all the updated squads, with ins and outs
AVAILABILITY CLASHES
The ILT20, which will see Akeal Hosein, Sam Billings, Alex Hales, Colin Munro, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Chris Jordan, Chris Lynn, James Vince and Trent Boult, all depart the BBL, confirmed their start date is January 13, not January 6 as originally stated, which means those players are likely to leave the BBL around Round 8-9.
INJURY NEWS
Big news out of Perth on Friday with Mitch Marsh ($246k BAT/BWL) and Phil Salt ($125k BAT) ruled out of BBL|12.
The Scorchers update said: “Marsh had keyhole surgery on his left ankle in Sydney yesterday to repair a longstanding injury, and is expected to be sidelined for approximately three months.
“Salt sustained a grade two ligament injury on his left shoulder… Due to advice from a leading shoulder specialist in the UK and factoring the timeframe of his recovery, Salt is unavailable for BBL|12.”
Jhye Richardson ($149k BWL) missed WA’s final Shield game due to a bruised heel which is a slight concern ahead of the BBL.
Daniel Sams ($179k BAT/BWL) also missed NSW’s final Marsh Cup game with an undisclosed injury although it’s understood he’s expected to be back in time for the BBL.
FORM GUIDE
Hurricanes import Zak Crawley ($125k BAT) scored an 86-ball century for England in the First Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi. He’s been signed as cover for Shadab Khan ($125k BAT/BWL) in January when he heads out for a Pakistan ODI series.
Canes coach Jeff Vaughan was asked about Crawley this week and said: “Pretty classy player. Top order batsman who can give it a bit of a whack. An opportunity for him to bat anywhere in our top 4 or 5. High quality batsman.”
Hobart’s Tim David ($89k BAT) has been one of the best batsmen in the Abu Dhabi T10 League, smoking 176 runs from 86 balls faced (204 strike rate) so far in his middle order role.
Scorchers bowler Andrew Tye ($156k BWL) is the leading T10 League wicket taker with nine wickets in five games, while Peter Hatzoglou ($95k BWL) has been a major surprise, taking seven wickets including a stunning 3-6 from two overs.
Renegades import Akeal Hosein ($105k BWL) has been excellent too, only taking five wickets from five games but managing an economy rate of 5.14 which is spectacular in 10-over cricket.
In the Marsh Cup, Heat batsman Max Bryant ($95k BAT) made 88* from 53 balls batting at fifth in the order as Queensland beat NSW.
In Premier Cricket ranks, Strikers bowler Henry Thornton ($163k BWL) took a 5fa in SA, while Stars all-rounder Clint Hinchliffe ($95k BAT/BWL) claimed a 6fa in Tasmania. Heat cheaper Josh Brown ($42k BAT) made a century in Queensland club cricket.
Check out our Premier Cricket game-by-game form guide
