The Adelaide Strikers’ Round 1 bowling line-up picture is starting to get a little clearer, with the side hopeful Jordan Buckingham will be available for selection for their first game.
Buckingham went down injured in last month’s Australia A-India A four-day game and hasn’t played since.
It’s since emerged that the 24-year-old right-arm fast-medium bowler has a small hairline fracture in his rib, rather than a side strain as originally reported.
Honeyball understands he’s tracking well in his recovery and the Strikers are hopeful about his availability for their season opener on Tuesday 17 December against the Sydney Thunder.
Buckingham may get an opportunity to impress in the lead-up, with the Strikers set to play the Thunder in a warm-up game at ENGIE Stadium on Friday 13 December.
The Strikers look set to have Henry Thornton available too, having bowled 4 overs for Kensington in Saturday’s SA T20s following some minor soreness last week.
All-rounder James Bazley’s status is a bit more uncertain following a side strain. He was named to play in Queensland for Redlands this weekend but their game was washed out. It’s unclear if he was going to play as a batsman only.
Fellow all-rounder Jamie Overton will fly to Australia this week to report for Strikers duty. He’s been in the English press recently, revealing he lost 10kgs in weight during his recovery from a back stress fracture this year to shape up.
Overton didn’t undergo surgery on his back problem, instead opting to shed weight to help him overcome the problem, which was the fifth stress fracture of his career.
Another Strikers fast bowler, Brendan Doggett, was also called into Australia’s growing Test squad for the second Test alongside Sean Abbott after Josh Hazlewood’s withdrawal with a side strain.
It is expected, Scott Boland will take Hazlewood’s spot in the XI. It’s also believed Hazlewood will be back in contention for the third Test, which impacts BBL Round 1.
If Hazlewood plays the third Test, Australia are unlikely to carry either Doggett or Abbott as cover, meaning they’d be released to play BBL.
New Strikers head coach Tim Paine has hinted previously he may use two spinners in tandem this season, with Cameron Boyce and Lloyd Pope in line to play regularly following the exit of Afghan star Rashid Khan. The duo spun the Strikers to an upset finals win over Perth last season.
They’ve also signed West Indian spinning all-rounder Fabian Allen, whose early availability will depend on selection in the upcoming white-ball series against Bangladesh. Allen is currently playing in the Abu Dhabi T10 League for Delhi Bulls.
Pope has been in excellent form in SA lately, while veteran Boyce has played some club cricket in Queensland.
The Strikers have signed all 18 roster spots for BBL|14 but with Travis Head and Alex Carey to miss two-thirds of the season on Test duty, they will still sign two domestic replacements.
Click here to view our predicted Round 1 Adelaide Strikers’ line-up
