Ashton Agar’s return for the Perth Scorchers for Wednesday’s game was confirmed, while there were updates on injuries to Peter Siddle and Kane Richardson but also a fresh concern for Colin de Grandhomme.
TEAM NEWS
The Brisbane Heat named a 15-man squad with Test trio Marnus Labuschagne ($204k BAT/BWL), Usman Khawaja ($155k BAT) and Matt Renshaw ($81k BAT/BWL) added for Wednesday’s game against the Perth Scorchers.
Josh Brown ($97k BAT) and Nathan McSweeney ($131k BAT/BWL) retain their spots, with the Heat shuffling their deck given they were local replacement players (LRP) for two of the Test players.
Brown is now a replacement for the departed Colin Munro ($156k BAT), given they only have two overseas players, while McSweeney comes in as a LRP for Jake Wildermuth ($127k BAT/BWL), who the Heat said: “Will miss the next week with a back complaint.”
The Scorchers named their 14-man squad for Wednesday’s game against the Heat with Ashton Agar ($138k BAT/BWL) returning following Test duty.
Adam Lyth ($61k BAT) is out having departed for the ILT20, while Chris Sabburg ($62k BAT) drops out too. The game is Perth’s first in a three-game five-day road trip.
Meanwhile, Matt Kelly talked up Ashton Turner’s ($145k BAT) bowling. He said: “He’s a great bowler and we saw that the other night. We’re lucky to have that, if something’s not going so well, he can come on and go 4-5 an over and I think that’s what changed the game the other night, it slowed them down. He probably underrates himself. I think he’s a great bowler particularly in conditions like we have in Perth where spinners notoriously don’t do so well, he does really well there.”
Kelly also was excited about Lance Morris’ ($69k BWL) impact amid worries he may not play both games in the double. He said: “He brings a lot of energy. Can’t wait for him to play a few games. He hasn’t played cricket for a couple of months now. Just to get him out there and playing, I think he’ll do really well for us.”
Heat: Peirson, Bartlett, Bazley, Brown, Bryant, Johnson, Khawaja (c), Kuhnemann, Labuschagne, McSweeney, Neser, Renshaw, Steketee, Swepson, Whiteley
Scorchers: Agar, Bancroft, Behrendorff, Connolly, Eskinazi, Hardie, Hatzoglou, Hobson, Inglis, Kelly, Morris, Payne, Tye, Turner (c)
UPDATES
Peter Siddle ($79k BWL) looks likely to return for the second game of Adelaide’s double which may impact their other bowling options.
Strikers coach Jason Gillespie told FoxCricket: “He had a light bowl today. He’s had some running and he’s pulled up really well. We’re really confident that he’ll be available to play the next game.”
Colin de Grandhomme ($128k BAT/BWL) appeared to sustain a hamstring injury during the game and did not field or bowl. Strikers assistant coach Johan Botha will likely offer an update during a media opportunity at the Adelaide Airport on Wednesday.
Chris Lynn ($168k BAT) also didn’t field due to fatigue. The Strikers are due to next face the Melbourne Stars on Thursday in the second game of their double.
Kane Richardson ($160k BWL) picked up a concern in Tuesday’s game against the Strikers with a side issue.
Gades coach David Saker told FoxCricket: “He’s fine. It’s his right-hand side, so it’s not as bad. If it was his left it would be a bit of a drama but we think he’s going to be OK.”
Honeyball crunched the numbers on Melbourne Renegades leg-spinning all-rounder Matt Critchley ($105k BAT/BWL) whose price was confirmed on Tuesday.
Critchley averaged 82.3 SC BBL points for Essex in the 2022 T20 Blast, where he took 15 wickets in 10 games with his leg-spin. Interestingly, he batted at 4 in nine of the 10 games (above Daniel Sams), the other when he opened.
Hobart Hurricanes coach Jeff Vaughan offered another update on Paddy Dooley ($142k BWL). He told 7Cricket: “Slight surgical procedure yesterday, expecting him to play Sunday.”
