Shadab Khan’s availability for the Hobart Hurricanes’ Round 8 double has been confirmed with Pakistan ODI duty looming, while there’s confirmation on Rashid Khan and Faf du Plessis’ final games.
TEAM NEWS
The Sydney Thunder made one change to their 14-man squad to face the Hobart Hurricanes in Albury on Saturday, with Joel Davies ($42k BAT/BWL) coming in for Gurinder Sandhu ($155k BWL).
The Thunder said: “Sandhu remained on the Gold Coast to have scans taken of his injured left calf muscle.”
The Hurricanes confirmed a 13-man squad with Ben McDermott ($135k WKP/BAT) absent again due to a hamstring issue, while Wil Parker ($71k BWL) dropped out. Matthew Wade ($152k WKP/BAT) returns from suspension.
Hobart said in an update: “Will miss the match, with the coaching and medical staff opting to be super cautious with regards to the hamstring complaint that saw him miss last week’s Christmas Eve game.”
The Canes also confirmed Billy Stanlake ($68k BWL) has sustained a hamstring injury too.
Thunder: Cutting, J. Davies, O. Davies, Doggett, Gilkes, Gray, Green (c), Hales, Holt, McAndrew, Usman Qadir, Ross, Rossouw, Sams
Hurricanes: Asif Ali, David, Dooley, Ellis, Jewell, Shadab Khan, Meredith, Neesham, Owen, Paris, Short, Tremain, Wade (c)
The Adelaide Strikers named a 13-man squad for their New Year’s Eve clash with the Melbourne Stars. Honeyball understands Jake Weatherald ($47k BAT) will miss their next two games with an abdominal issue, which opens up a run in the side for Henry Hunt ($57k BAT).
The Stars named an unchanged 16-man squad for the game, including Nathan Coulter-Nile ($146k BWL) despite an apparent hamstring concern sustained against the Perth Scorchers on Thursday.
Stars teammate Hilton Cartwright said about Coulter-Nile: “I’m not sure if he’s injured. I know he’s had a tight hammy for a bit. He didn’t play last game as we rested him so I’m assuming it’s along those lines.”
Strikers: W.Agar, Conway, de Grandhomme, Hose, Hunt, Kelly, Rashid Khan, Lynn, Manenti, Nielsen, Short, Siddle (c), Thornton
Stars: Zampa (c), Boult, Cartwright, Clarke, Couch, Coulter-Nile, Hatcher, Hinchliffe, Kellaway, Larkin, O’Connell, Rogers, Seymour, Stoinis, Webster, Wood
UPDATES
Honeyball has sought confirmation on travel plans for numerous players ahead of departures for the ILT20 and SA-20.
Hurricanes all-rounder Shadab Khan ($168k BAT/BWL) will also exit the BBL for a Pakistan ODI series (games January 11-15), with Hobart confirming his final game before he departs being on January 2 (Round 7), meaning he misses both games of their Round 8 double.
Hobart indicated he is likely to return for either their January 18 game against Perth or January 20 game against Brisbane.
Jimmy Neesham ($102k BAT/BWL) will also play his final game for the Canes on New Year’s Eve, with Zak Crawley ($125k BAT) and Faheem Ashraf ($105k BWL) set to arrive.
Rashid Khan’s ($153k BWL) last game for the Adelaide Strikers will be on January 5 (Round 8), before he heads to the SA-20.
Faf du Plessis ($161k BAT) is also headed for the SA-20, with his last game for Perth on January 4 (Round 7), while Scorchers batsman Adam Lyth’s ($59k BWL) last game will be January 7 (Round 8) before he goes to the ILT20.
Scorchers’ English fast bowler David Payne ($105k BWL) will arrive in Perth on Saturday night and be available for the rest of the tournament.
INTL CALLUPS
Ashton Agar ($142k BAT/BWL) and Matt Renshaw ($99k BAT/BWL) were both called into the Australian Test squad to replace injured pair Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green ($62k BAT/BWL).
As a result, both will miss a run of BBL games, with their absence potentially positive for the role of Ashton Turner ($73k BAT) or Aaron Hardie ($158k BAT/BWL) or selection of Josh Brown ($42k BAT).
