Haris doubt, Dizzy on Short bowling, Heat on Walter role, Connolly stars and Agar & Kelly return

Cooper Connolly shot back into SuperCoach relevance with a staggering display in the Scorchers’ intrasquad game while James Vince’s arrival for the Sixers was confirmed and more signings were revealed.

SCORCHERS INTRASQUAD GAME

The Perth Scorchers warmed up for BBL|13 with an intrasquad practice game at Murdoch Uni on Tuesday, with Cooper Connolly the standout while Ashton Agar and Matt Kelly both returned from calf injuries.

The Scorchers wouldn’t offer the full scorecard to Honeyball but there were some insights, with Connolly putting his name up in lights for Round 1 selection with 95 from 56 balls opening the batting, while he took 2-24 from 4 overs opening the bowling.

Voges talked about Connolly’s role after the game. He told The West: “He had the break-out performance in the final last season and will certainly get a little bit more responsibility this year and opportunity.

“Exactly where he lines up and that role is something we are still working through with him, but the beauty of a number of our guys is they can bat anywhere in the top six or seven and he fits into that category. He is opening the batting today and we gave him an opportunity to open in the Marsh Cup as well. We think he can fill a variety of roles.”

Agar’s return from a calf injury was unexpected, getting through 4 overs and moving comfortably in the field. Cricket Australia, however, may have input on his availability and recovery.

Kelly has also been battling a calf problem and was expected to be available in the early stages of BBL, but he also bowled his full four-over allocation.

Left-arm wrist spinner Hamish McKenzie also bowled 4 overs despite reports he’d miss most of the season with a back issue, although he was rusty.

Laurie Evans made 44 from 18 while Andrew Tye took 2-34 from four overs. Uncontracted Sam Fanning made 63 from 41 deliveries to push his case to be a local replacement player.

Jhye Richardson didn’t play, given time to recover after his increased loads in red-ball cricket after injuries throughout 2023.

Stephen Eskinazi was absent, flying into Perth from Abu Dhabi on Tuesday while Jason Behrendorff and Aaron Hardie didn’t play, having only flown home from the India T20I series on Monday.

LATEST NEWS

Melbourne Stars coach Peter Moores revealed on SEN that Haris Rauf ($125k BWL) was no certainty to play in Thursday’s season opener against the Brisbane Heat, despite receiving a No-Objection Clearance from the PCB and flying into Australia on Tuesday.

Moores said: “The NOCs have just come through which is exciting for us. (Haris and Usama Mir) will be available… We’ll see how Haris is when he gets here. Obviously, he’s got a long flight to get over. It’s getting tight, but we’ll see how he is and go from there.”

The new Stars coach also clarified Glenn Maxwell ($118k BAT/BWL) is good to go. He said: “He was training yesterday. Full of energy, full of beans, which is great to have him healthy and helping people out. Excited to work with him as captain.”

New Stars recruit Sam Harper ($130k WKP/BAT) spoke about his likely role and the side’s batting order. He said: “I caught up with Mooresy when he arrived. I’ve been opening a bit with (Tom) Rogers for the Vics. Lucky enough to have Maxwell, Stoinis, Cartwright, Webster, a pretty powerful middle order to come in after.”

Adelaide Strikers coach Jason Gillespie discussed his side’s spin options with Rashid Khan out, flagging the bowling of D’Arcy Short ($67k BAT) and Matt Short ($244k BAT/BWL). He said: “We actually have four spin options in our squad. Boyce, Manenti, D’Arcy Short and Matt Short who has bowled really well at different times in the last couple of years.”

Gillespie also talked up the signing of David Payne ($139k BWL) and discussed his role. He said: “He obviously played for the Scorchers last year. Got 10 wickets in 6 games, bowled very well. Swings the ball up front. He’s very experienced and we thought he’d complement our team very well.”

Brisbane Heat vice-captain Jimmy Peirson discussed the likely roles of Colin Munro ($156k BAT) and Sam Billings ($116k WKP/BAT) ahead of their Round 1 triple, along with English all-rounder Paul Walter ($105k BAT/BWL), who he described as their “extra bowling option”.

Peirson said: “We saw Munro and Billings for us last year. Munro’s a powerhouse at the top and then ‘Bilbo’ is that calming, 20-over type batter who comes in at three, four or five. He’s capable of some explosive knocks – we saw one against the Sixers last year at the Gabba where he teed up the short end – and he’s a seasoned professional.

“‘Tall Paul’ is more of an unknown quantity. I’ve seen some highlights, he’s a huge man and he hits a big ball. He gives us that extra bowling option as well with his left-armers and we saw last year how having that left-arm angle can help defend the short end of the Gabba.”

Peirson also talked up the potential breakout impact of Xavier Bartlett ($133k BWL), noting his high batting role and powerplay bowling. He said: “He’s been around a while now but I think we’ll see Xavier Bartlett really reach his potential this tournament. He’s back up and running from a back stress fracture and he’s ready to go. He takes the new ball for us, swings it beautifully and his batting has really come on; I think we’ll see some really important runs at seven or eight from him.”

AVAILABILITY NEWS

James Vince ($115k BAT) is on his way to Australia from the Abu Dhabi T10 League, likely to arrive in time for the Sydney Sixers’ season opener on Friday against the Melbourne Renegades.

Sixers spinner Izhrarulhaq Naveed ($108k BWL) was also spotted on social media on a flight to Australia amid some talk he’ll be unavailable for game 1.

The Melbourne Renegades confirmed that Nathan Lyon ($62k BWL) will not play in Friday’s season opener against the Sixers due to Test commitments.

NEW SIGNINGS

The Perth Scorchers rounded out their 18-man squad with the addition of 22-year-old 200cm left-arm fast bowler Liam Haskett ($42k BWL), who has taken 13 wickets in four Sheffield Shield games. Scorchers coach Adam Voges said: “His pace and bounce are especially well suited to Optus Stadium, we believe Liam is a bowler who can have an impact wherever he plays.”

The Sydney Thunder took their squad up to 17 players, signing all-rounder Will Salzmann ($42k BAT/BWL) and Penrith fast bowler Liam Doddrell ($42k BWL). Ex-Australia U19 rep Salzmann, 20, has played a few times for NSW, taking 4-48 against WA in the Marsh Cup recently, while he made a century in NSW Premier Cricket last weekend. Doddrell bats 7 and opens the bowling for Penrith.

All-rounder Jonathon Merlo ($62k BAT/BWL) has joined the Melbourne Stars as a local replacement player for Beau Webster, who’ll miss game 1 on PM’s XI duty.