The Sydney Thunder and the Sydney Sixers’ squads for Saturday night’s derby were revealed, while the Melbourne Stars made a key overseas signing and offered insights in their Round 5 double line-up.
SQUAD NEWS
Both squads for Saturday night’s Sydney Smash were named but they offered zero insight, with the Thunder naming an entire 18-man squad. Zaman Khan is out on Pakistan duty, while English import Tom Kohler-Cadmore comes into the squad and he’s been priced at $125k BAT/WKP.
Liam Doddrell, Toby Gray, Sam Konstas, Blake Nikitaras and Will Salzmann are also added to the wider squad.
Kohler-Cadmore, who can play as wicketkeeper, said he wasn’t sure yet if he’d assume the gloves or Cam Bancroft would continue in the role. He said: “I’ve no idea yet. I’ve not spoken to anyone yet so hopefully I’ll find out and we’ll see.”
Thunder squad: Bancroft, Davies, Doddrell, Gilkes, Gray, Green (c), Hales, Hatcher, Konstas, TKC, McAndrew, Nikitaras, Ross, Salzmann, Sams, Sandhu, J.Sangha, T.Sangha
The Sixers named an unchanged 17-man squad, with Moises Henriques (shoulder) and Dan Hughes (head) named despite concerns and Honeyball understands they’re both available for selection.
Sixers squad: Abbott, Bird, Davies, Dwarshuis, Edwards, Hadley, Henriques (c), Hughes, Kerr, Murphy, Naveed, O’Keefe, Patterson, Perry, Philippe, Silk, Vince
SIGNINGS
The Melbourne Stars added English international batsman Dan Lawrence ($125k BAT) for the rest of BBL|13, as an overseas replacement player with Haris Rauf and Usama Mir departed.
Lawrence is a powerful top order batter, who can also provide handy off spin. He’ll be available from their New Year’s Eve match against the Strikers, the first of their Round 5 double.
The Englishman made 386 runs in 13 knocks in the 2023 T20 Blast, predominantly opening the batting, averaging 29.69 with a strike rate of 153.17 for Essex. He played a few different top 5 batting roles in The Hundred for London Spirit, scoring 151 runs in six innings with a strike rate of 164.
Stars GM Blair Crouch said: “We’re thrilled to secure someone of Dan’s talent and he’ll provide another powerful striking option at the top of our order.”
UPDATES
Stars captain Glenn Maxwell hinted that with Rauf and Mir’s stint over they may turn to domestic players like Mark Steketee and Corey Rocchiccioli to fill their void rather than another import, while noting Nathan Coulter-Nile isn’t far off returning from a calf injury sustained in game 1.
“We’ll back our domestic depth, I feel like we’ve got some guys waiting on the sidelines ready to go,” Maxwell told Fox Cricket. “They’re really ready to have another crack and it sounds like (Nathan) Coulter-Nile (calf) is not far away as well, so that’ll be a boost for the back end of the tournament.”
Maxwell also clarified his bowling role, stating conditions led to him using himself for 4 overs. He said: “I took a gamble to bring myself on. With that little bit of drizzle and that rain it actually changed the pitch, I was able to get the ball to skid on a bit faster. You get a couple of lucky wickets with just timing.”
The Stars captain confirmed Tom Rogers batting at 5 rather than opening was a late call due to the rain-affected game. Stars coach Peter Moores also praised Maxwell. He said: “He had the all-round game. There’s so much on a captain’s plate in T20. He captained brilliantly. He bowled beautifully himself, nearly got one of the run outs of the season and then took us home with the bat. I love people not out at the end and he was one of them.”
Hobart Hurricanes quick Riley Meredith confirmed he was fully fit after a side injury. He said: “It’s feeling good. I obviously had a bit of a hiccup early but it’s feeling all fine now and ready to go.”
The Melbourne Renegades confirmed late on Friday that Nic Maddinson would be dropped for their clash that evening against the Adelaide Strikers. Gades coach David Saker said: “Evidently his form hasn’t been up to a standard we expect and unfortunately we’ve had to make the tough call.
“To his credit, Maddo was the first to put his hand up and has been first class in the way he’s presented himself. He’s missed a lot of cricket due his knee injury and while his preparation to date has been sound, it’s extremely tough to come back after such a long layoff and launch into a Big Bash season.”
