Over the past week, there’s been some injury news for Ashton and Wes Agar, plus an awkwardly timed Australia T20I tour on the eve of BBL, a potential rival comp announced and a some big form guide news.
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LATEST NEWS
Michael Neser ($194k BAT/BWL) was a big talking point this week, stepping away mid-game from Queensland’s Sheffield Shield game for personal reasons, but there was good news 24 hours later, when he returned.
Neser said: “Things are more positive now and I can re-join the team for the remainder of the game. I am very grateful for the backing we have received and thank everyone for their support and understanding.” We won’t entertain speculation on what occurred but it’s pleasing news for someone who’s likely to be a popular SuperCoach option if available in Round 1.
To view all the BBL|13 squads to this point, with ins and outs, go here
INJURY NEWS
Scorchers all-rounder Ashton Agar ($106k B/B) suffered a recurrence of the left calf strain initially sustained during Australia’s tour of South Africa. The WACA said in an update: “Given Agar is a nationally contracted player, WA Cricket will work closely with Cricket Australia to determine his return to play.”
It wasn’t a good week for the Agars, with Wes Agar ($149k BWL) battling through SA’s Sheffield Shield loss to WA. SA coach Jason Gillespie said: “He’s pretty sore, to be honest. We’ll assess him in the coming days. At this point right now Wes is pretty sore. From speaking to the doc, he’s had some back spasms, but it’s something with his discs. We’ll explore that further and have more information when that comes to hand. At the moment he’s pretty sore.”
Unsigned WA fast bowler Cam Gannon also suffered an injury in that Shield game.
Renegades batsman Jake Fraser-McGurk ($62k BAT) also was absent following “soreness” last week. The SACA revealed: “He has a low grade hamstring strain & will miss the Shield game against WA. We are preparing him to be available for the trip to Brisbane for the Shield game there in a couple of weeks’ time.”
Stars recruit Joel Paris ($95k BWL) returned in style from a hamstring strain for WA in the Sheffield Shield this week, taking out Player of the Match honours with 11 wickets in a victory over SA.
SIGNINGS/RE-SIGNINGS
No news this week, with BBL clubs letting their WBBL teams get the spotlight.
View our predicted Round 1 line-up for the Brisbane Heat
View our predicted Round 1 line-up for the Adelaide Strikers
View our predicted Round 1 line-up for the Perth Scorchers
INTERNATIONAL CALL-UPS
Australia announced a 15-player squad for a five-game T20I series away to India running from November 23 to December 3. The first BBL game is December 7, so it’s unlikely to directly impact selection, but it will may mean those players miss practice games which will deny SuperCoaches an opportunity to see their batting order or bowling line-up plans.
For example, with the Adelaide Strikers new all-rounder options like Jamie Overton and D’Arcy Short, we may miss out on seeing the overs split with Matthew Short.
The squad is: Matthew Wade (c), Jason Behrendorff, Sean Abbott, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa.
In other news, Sri Lanka Cricket announced a brand new Lanka T10 tournament (10-over format) which will run from December 12-23 with a player auction on November 10. Whether that impacts BBL|13 international availability remains to be seen. Stay tuned for that auction in a fortnight.
For more on BBL|13 availability, read our availability calendar here
FORM GUIDE
Firstly at the ICC World Cup, Renegades recruit Adam Zampa continues to take wickets with 3-74 against New Zealand and 4-8 against the Netherlands, meaning he’s taken 15 wickets in his past four games.
Stars all-rounder Glenn Maxwell obviously grabbed plenty of attention with his World Cup record century against the Dutch, blasting 106 from 44 balls, before adding 41 from 24 against New Zealand. David Warner and Travis Head both made centuries but we’re unlikely to see them in the BBL this summer due to Test duty.
Gades recruit Quinton de Kock smoked 174 from 140 balls in South Africa’s 149-run win over Bangladesh, ensuring he’s the World Cup’s top scorer at this stage ahead of Warner.
We like to focus on white ball cricket in here, but there were no Marsh Cup games over the past week. It’s worth noting a few things out of the Sheffield Shield, namely relating to Test selection with Thunder recruit Cameron Bancroft boosting his case with 57 and 100 in WA’s win over SA.
WA coach Adam Voges said: “He’s doing all he possibly can do at the moment. He was outstanding all of last season, he has started this season like he did last year. He is the premier, form batsman of the competition.”
Bancroft is likely batting with Marcus Harris and Matt Renshaw for a spot in Australia’s Test squad as a back-up batsman.
Harris made 0 and 11 in Victoria’s low scoring win over NSW, while Renshaw made 7 and 57. Bancroft leads the Shield scorers this season with 370 runs from four knocks at 92.5. Renshaw is sixth with 271. Harris has only 21 runs in four innings.
In WA Premier Cricket, Strikers recruit D’Arcy Short scored a timely century for Willetton, making 131 from 184 balls against Rockingham-Mandurah to re-discover some touch.
Elsewhere, Scorchers spinner Hamish McKenzie took 8-43 for Subiaco Floreat, while Nick Hobson blasted 138 from 121 balls to continue his superb Premier Cricket form.
In NSW’s Kingsgrove T20 Cup semi-finals, Daniel Sams’ Randwick Petersham progressed to the decider although the Thunder all-rounder only made 6 from 10 balls batting at four and didn’t bowl. He hasn’t bowled all season, for reasons unclear at this stage. Thunder recruit Liam Hatcher took 2-50 for beaten Fairfield Liverpool.
