BBL News: Jhye returns after 10 months out, QdK in form, Connolly & Kerr injuries & Stars gun re-signs
The SuperCoach BBL season isn’t far away so we’re commencing our weekly wrap-ups of all the key action with Jhye Richardson’s return after 10 months out topping the news this week, along with injury updates on Cooper Connolly and Hayden Kerr.
LATEST NEWS
Scorchers fast bowler Jhye Richardson made his return from a long-term hamstring injury as WA defeated Victoria in the Marsh One-Day Cup taking 2-36.
Richardson, who was the leading wicket-taker in BBL|10, hadn’t played since injuring his hamstring in BBL on January 4 when the Perth Scorchers played the Sydney Thunder. He underwent surgery in the off-season, meaning he missed the IPL and the Ashes.
“I have my goals with this season, getting past rehab and returning to play and stuff like that, but there’s actually a bigger picture,” Richardson told cricket.com.au. “Getting back to just playing, starting back in Shield cricket and one-day cricket for WA.”
We appreciate BBL|13 is still two months away, but this timing offers Richardson a good runway to be fully fit and firing by that time.
INJURY NEWS
Young Scorchers sensation Cooper Connolly has been ruled out for an unknown timeframe due to a toe injury, potentially impacting his BBL|13 availability.
Sixers all-rounder Hayden Kerr sustained an adductor strain playing for NSW against Queensland in the Sheffield Shield ruling him out of their corresponding game against SA which started on Sunday. The extent of the injury is unclear at this stage, but a worst case scenario Grade 3 adductor strain takes up to four months to heal.
Usman Khawaja has been rested for Queensland’s upcoming Sheffield Shield game against Victoria as part of his workload management plans. Khawaja, who is contracted with the Heat, is fit and healthy and will likely be unavailable all BBL season anyway due to Test duties.
Stars bowler Scott Boland was rested for Victoria’s Marsh Cup loss to WA having bowled 36 overs in the preceding Shield game. He’ll also be “managed” for their upcoming Shield game against Queensland. The fact Cricket Austrlia are getting involved shows he’s likely to be in the Test mix this summer, which will impact his availability.
SIGNINGS/RE-SIGNINGS
The Melbourne Stars confirmed the re-signing of fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile for another season. Coulter-Nile played 11 games last season, taking 16 wickets at 187.25.
Stars General Manager Blair Crouch said: “We were rapt with Nathan’s consistency in BBL|12 and he more than proved he can still match it with anyone at this level. With his experience, he’s a great resource to have for some of our younger members of the group and we now have a fast-bowling brigade that is flexible and full of options for Peter Moores and the rest of the coaching staff.”
FORM GUIDE
The domestic season is underway with both the Marsh Cup and Sheffield Shield but we prefer to focus on white-ball cricket given BBL is T20, so the standouts were led by the aforementioned Richardson returning with 2-36 in WA’s win over Victoria at the WACA Ground.
Scorchers teammate Jason Behrendorff was Player of the Match after taking 3-14 from 5 overs as the Vics were bowled out for 107. Andrew Tye cleaned up the tail, taking 3-14.
Richardson along with fellow returning quick Joel Paris are due to play for the WA second XI in a four-day game this week as they build their respective fitness bases.
There wasn’t much for the Vics to get excited about except for Will Sutherland taking 2-14 from 6 overs. He’ll likely be SuperCoach relevant with a probable Renegades double first up.
Thunder medium-fast bowler Gurinder Sandhu was Player of the Match in Queensland’s one-wicket win over NSW, taking 2-20 from 7 overs plus making 46* from 45 balls in a low-scoring game at North Sydney Oval.
Earlier, Sixers bat Moises Henriques made 82 from 84 balls for NSW, while Daniel Hughes added 59 from 59 balls at the top of the order. Keep an eye on Jack Edwards who took 4-38 from 8 overs for NSW.
Renegades bat Jake Fraser-McGurk was Player of the Match as SA lost by 37 runs in a high-scoring game at Karen Rolton Oval, blasting a one-day world-record 125 from 38 balls as an opener for his new state which he said has offered him a “fresh start”. Earlier, Sixers middle-order bat Jordan Silk made 116 from 85 balls.
At the ICC World Cup, none of the Aussies are particularly catching the eye, but Renegades’ South African recruit Quinton de Kock has posted back-to-back centuries, meaning he’s set to be a popular Round 1 SuperCoach with their likely double game.
In the Shield, Michael Neser and Jimmy Peirson both scored game-saving centuries for Queensland in their draw with NSW, while the aforementioned Edwards was named Player of the Match with 6-36 in the first innings plus 87 with the bat.
To view all the BBL|13 squads to this point, with ins and outs, go here
