All the ins and outs for the four BBL|13 finalists as several overseas players depart before the knockout phase
Renshaw cleared to play for Heat as ILT20 stars depart
Brisbane Heat have received a huge boost ahead of their blockbuster KFC BBL Qualifier final on the Gold Coast with recalled Test squad member Matthew Renshaw cleared to play against the Sydney Sixers on Friday night.
The Heat had looked set to lose five players from their XI that secured first place and a home final by beating the Perth Scorchers last Wednesday with captain Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne in action for Australia against the West Indies, while stand-in skipper Colin Munro and wicketkeeper Sam Billings have now departed for the UAE T20 league.
Renshaw also appeared to be added to that list after returning to the 13-man Test squad following the retirement of David Warner, but after being named as 13th man for the series opener against the Windies in Adelaide he will be released from the Aussie camp for 48 hours.
The 27-year-old left-hander will join the Heat on the Gold Coast on Thursday evening before returning to Adelaide on Saturday for day four of the first NRMA Insurance Test.
Brisbane aren't the only club impacted by the start of the ILT20 competition in the UAE with the three other finalists all set to lose overseas stars for BBL|13's knockout phase.
Get the full ins and outs for each club: Heat | Sixers | Scorchers | Strikers
Brisbane Heat
Ins: Charlie Wakim, Jordan Buckingham
Outs: Colin Munro (Desert Vipers – ILT20), Sam Billings (Dubai Capitals – ILT20), Usman Khawaja (Test squad), Marnus Labuschagne (Test squad)
BBL|13 finals squad: Xavier Bartlett, Josh Brown, Max Bryant, Jordan Buckingham (local replacement player), Spencer Johnson, Matthew Kuhnemann, Nathan McSweeney (c), Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Will Prestwidge, Mitchell Swepson, Charlie Wakim (local replacement player), Paul Walter (England), Jack Wildermuth, Jack Wood
Unfortunately, the Heat have lost two of their top four batters this season with Munro (224 runs striking at 140) and Billings (145 striking at 140) both departing for the UAE T20 league after the loss to the Scorchers in Perth on Saturday.
As expected, they also won't have Test stars Khawaja and Labuschagne available for finals due to Australia's two-match series against the West Indies.
Renshaw also joined the Australian squad in Adelaide after the Heat's last match in Perth for the first Test against the West Indies that started this morning, but he isn't in the final XI and will arrive on the Gold Coast on Thursday evening.
"We were always preparing for this moment knowing full well that Billings and Munro weren't going to be here, Marnus (Labuschagne) and Usman (Khawaja) also weren't going to be here," Heat coach Wade Seccombe said.
"So I'm not seeing it as a daunting task, I'm really quite comfortable with the team we're going to be putting on the paddock, so I've just got to instil the confidence in those players coming in that they're the same."
The Heat prepared for the departures of Munro and Billings by leaving them out of the XI to face the Scorchers, with Queensland wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson and Max Bryant recalled and Nathan McSweeney taking the reins as captain.
"Jimmy (Peirson) spent time in the middle, faced a lot of balls, and Max, the times that he's had a chance to play for us recently he's done really well," Seccombe said.
"They're both better off for the experience, they're going to have a good week of prep and they should just roll into the finals."
The Heat have also added Tasmanian batter Charlie Wakim to their squad as a local replacement player for the second time in BBL|13 as an additional batting option.
Wakim has hit two centuries for Tasmania in the Marsh Sheffield Shield so far this summer after a stint with the Sunshine Coast Scorchers in last year's inaugural KFC T20 Max competition brought him to the attention of the Heat.
He was signed at the start of BBL|13 as a replacement player while three members of Brisbane's squad were in action with the Prime Minister's XI. Wakim played two BBL games for the Stars in BBL|11 as a Covid replacement.
Sydney Sixers
Ins: Ryan Hadley
Outs: Tom Curran (knee injury), James Vince (Gulf Giants – ILT20), Steve Smith (Test squad)
BBL|13 finals squad: Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird, Joel Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Ryan Hadley (local replacement player), Moises Henriques (c), Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Todd Murphy, Izharulhaq Naveed (Afghanistan), Steve O'Keefe, Kurtis Patterson, Mitch Perry, Josh Philippe, Jordan Silk
The Sixers have lost both of their overseas regulars for the finals with English opener James Vince heading off to the UAE after last night's stunning final-ball victory over the Perth Scorchers to secure the double chance.
It comes after Tom Curran's horror BBL|13 was ended prematurely by a knee injury prior to last Friday's Sydney Smash, but the English allrounder was expected to miss the finals anyway due to his ILT20 commitments.
Steve Smith also won't play again due to the Test series against the West Indies, and while the Sixers have Afghanistan leg-spinner Izharulhaq Naveed in their BBL|13 squad, he hasn't played all season.
NSW seamer Ryan Hadley was added to the squad as a local replacement player for the clash with the Thunder and remains an option for the finals if the Sixers need additional depth.
Veteran Daniel Hughes slotted in seamlessly at the top to replace Smith with a blazing 43-ball 74 against the Scorchers, with Josh Philippe an option to return to opening in place of Vince.
However, the Sixers could opt to leave him at No.3 where he has hit 79 runs striking at 136 in his last two knocks, with Kurtis Patterson or allrounder Hayden Kerr – who hit a match-winning 98no in the BBL|11 Challenger against the Strikers – two potential candidates to fill the void at the top.
"I'm happy to do whatever the team needs to do and 'Vincey's' gone now so I was always going to slip up there anyway," Hughes said of his promotion to opening after batting at No.3 in his past nine BBL innings.
"It was good to get the opportunity to get up there, especially on a nice wicket, whereas it's been quite challenging at the SCG for those guys.
"(Carrara) Stadium was sort of our home during Covid years and we played six or seven games there, so we know the dimensions and the wicket very well.
"But (the Heat) are a quality team, they've played very well all tournament, they lose a few of their rockstars but they've got quality players coming in so we can't take them lightly."
Perth Scorchers
Ins: Marcus Harris, Sam Fanning, Cameron Gannon
Outs: Laurie Evans (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders – ILT20), Zak Crawley (England Test squad), Jhye Richardson (side strain), Ashton Turner (knee injury)
BBL|13 finals squad: Aaron Hardie (c), Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Cooper Connolly, Stephen Eskinazi (England), Sam Fanning (local replacement player), Cameron Gannon (local replacement player), Marcus Harris (local replacement player), Liam Haskett, Nick Hobson, Josh Inglis (vc), Matt Kelly, Hamish McKenzie, Lance Morris, Andrew Tye, Sam Whiteman
Having lost captain Ashton Turner to a season-ending knee injury during their third game of the season, the Scorchers' title defence was dealt another blow when star quick Jhye Richardson went down with a side strain last week and was ruled out of the rest of the tournament.
Stand-in skipper Aaron Hardie has stepped up in the absence of Turner and is again the club's leading run-scorer this season with 328 at 41, but without Turner their batting depth is being tested.
Nick Hobson and Cooper Connolly have again showed what they are capable of in the past two games, and the Scorchers will be hoping they deliver consistently with English imports Zak Crawley and Laurie Evans also done for the season due to their national and UAE T20 league commitments respectively.
With neither Sam Whiteman (81 runs at 13.5) and Stephen Eskinazi (44 at 14.66) firing at the top, the Scorchers have added Victorian opener Marcus Harris to their squad as a local replacement player and he's in line to play his first game with the club since BBL|05.
Eskinazi is also under an injury cloud and is set to have scans today after being hit on the knuckle by Sean Abbott before retiring hurt on seven in the loss to the Sixers last night.
"Every team is going to have to fill a hole and we've known that the whole time," Scorchers coach Adam Voges said.
"We'll have to wait and see how Steve Eskinazi is as well, hopefully he's OK, but that's why we've brought Marcus Harris in, we've got Sam Fanning on the bench as well, so we'll rely on our local talent like we have done many times in this tournament.
"With Ashton Turner's injury, we knew perhaps we'd need some cover at some stage and Marcus has played with us before, he knows Perth, he knows the conditions, he knows the players and he's fit in seamlessly already.
"A big part of the decision making was to bring someone in who knows our group … I would imagine that he'll come in for Saturday and hopefully he can have an impact."
Adelaide Strikers
Outs: Chris Lynn (Gulf Giants – ILT20), Jamie Overton (Gulf Giants – ILT20), Adam Hose (Desert Vipers – ILT20), Alex Carey (Test squad)
BBL|13 finals squad: Wes Agar, James Bazley, Cameron Boyce, Brendan Doggett, Henry Hunt, Thomas Kelly, Ben Manenti, Harry Nielsen, David Payne (England), Lloyd Pope (local replacement player), D'Arcy Short, Matt Short (c), Henry Thorton, Jake Weatherald
The Strikers are the form side entering the playoffs having stormed into the finals with four straight wins to seal fourth place, including beating the Scorchers by nine wickets in the two sides previous meeting at Adelaide Oval.
However, they did go down to the Scorchers by 42 runs on their last trip to Optus Stadium two days prior to that win and they'll face their toughest test of their last few weeks in Saturday's Knockout final.
The resurgence of Jake Weatherald has been key since he replaced an injured Chris Lynn with two match-turning innings of 80no off 32 balls against the Hurricanes and 47no off 31 against the Thunder to help seal the Strikers' finals berth.
Weatherald and captain Matt Short – who is the tournament's leading run-scorer with 509 at 72.71 – will be crucial to the Strikers hopes of upsetting the reigning champions in Perth.
The Strikers lose Lynn and Englishmen Jamie Overton and Adam Hose to the UAE league and apart from leg-spinner Lloyd Pope who has come in for Travis Head in the past four games, they're yet to name any replacement players for the finals.
"'Weathers' (Weatherald) had a pretty lean couple of years but to see him slide straight in the last couple of games for 'Lynny' (Lynn), it's been awesome to see him contribute and finish games, he's finished the last couple of games for us," Short said.
"We took a while to get our playing XI right, it took us until halfway through the tournament to stick to our plans and execute and we got 'Popey' (Lloyd Pope) in, both the leg-spinners are doing a great job.
"Jamie Overton's going to be a big loss as he goes to ILT20 as well, he's been awesome for us not only with the ball, but he's done really well with the bat coming in later in the innings.
"We're in really good nick at the moment coming off four or five wins in a row so I think teams should be looking out for us and be worried at what we're capable of."
KFC BBL|13 Finals Schedule
The Qualifier: Brisbane Heat v Sydney Sixers. January 19, 7.40pm AEDT, Carrara Stadium, Gold Coast
The Knockout: Perth Scorchers v Adelaide Strikers. January 20, 7.40pm AEDT, Optus Stadium
The Challenger: Loser of the Qualifier v winner of the Knockout. January 22, time, venue TBC
The Final: Winner of the Qualifier v winner of the Challenger. January 24, time, venue TBC
KFC BBL|13 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
HEA
|
10 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0.972 | 0 | 16 |
|
2
SIX
|
10 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.339 | 0 | 14 |
|
3
SCO
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.725 | 0 | 13 |
|
4
STR
|
10 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0.331 | 0 | 11 |
|
5
HUR
|
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -0.268 | 0 | 8 |
|
6
STA
|
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -1.051 | 0 | 8 |
|
7
REN
|
10 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2 | -0.288 | 0 | 6 |
|
8
THU
|
10 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2 | -0.652 | 0 | 4 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points