Perth Scorchers dealt Willey blow

Perth Scorchers’ hopes of qualifying for KFC BBL finals have taken a hit with experienced allrounder David Willey to miss the remainder of the tournament because of international duties.

Willey was originally scheduled to depart after the Scorchers’ final home game on February 3, but a statement confirmed he had been called back to the UK by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

The 28-year-old has been named in England’s squad for their five-match ODI series in the West Indies, which starts on February 20.

Willey was left out of the Scorchers clash with Hobart Hurricanes last Friday with a left shoulder injury and boarded a flight back to England today with his family. 

The hard-hitting batsman and left-arm bowler experienced mixed fortunes in BBL|08, returning 29 runs from four innings and two wickets.

A Scorchers spokesperson confirmed the club had started scouting for a replacement but no decision had been made on whether Willey would be replaced.

The perennial contenders are the most successful club in BBL history, boasting three titles.

But they sit on the bottom of the ladder with a 3-6 win-loss record with five home-and-away matches remaining and their next fixture against Sydney Thunder at Optus Stadium on Thursday.

Willey’s departure and Jhye Richardson’s call up to Australia’s squad for the upcoming two-Test series against Sri Lanka does hurt Perth’s pace attack, but they still boast Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff and Nathan Coulter-Nile.

Joel Paris was replaced in the squad by Aaron Hardie, who has made two appearances, earlier this month.

The 26-year-old, who has played two one-day matches for Australia, has not featured in BBL|08 because of a back injury.

Paris has to pass a fitness test this week to return to bowling in Western Australia’s Premier Cricket competition but is unlikely to be called up to take the field for the Scorchers.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Sam Whiteman, who crunched 68 against the Hurricanes on Friday after his team lost three early wickets, will be sidelined for the next 2-3 weeks with a quad injury.

In better news, Shaun Marsh and Mitch Marsh are set to return from international duties this week, while the Scorchers are hopeful Behrendorff (back) will be fit after he missed the last match of Australia’s ODI series against India.