Australia Test players set to be available for the BBL Finals week as Travis Head will rest ahead of the T20 World Cup.
Steven Smith will put on the pads for the Sydney Sixers three days after leading Australia to a 4-1 Ashes victory, and Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne may play just 48 hours after playing England.
Travis Head is one of the players who will miss the competition, although the majority of the Test team has been freed for BBL duty during the remaining parts of the regular season. Player of the series Mitchell Starc is expected to play for the first time in eleven years.
Prior to the T20 World Cup, Head had already said that he would be unlikely to make appearances for Adelaide Strikers and would instead take a break. After playing all five Test matches and sending the most overs in the series, Scott Boland is not available for the Melbourne Stars.
As the Sixers strive for a spot in the finals, Smith, who made 121 appearances against the Scorchers last season, will be eligible for the team’s final three regular-season games, beginning on Sunday against the Hobart Hurricanes.
Starc is anticipated to play in the derbies against the Brisbane Heat on January 18 and the Sydney Thunder on January 16. Smith’s absence from the team and Starc’s T20I retirement should make them available for the finals, which would be a huge advantage for the Sixers should they qualify.
Josh Hazlewood was just added to the Sixers’ roster of supplemental players, although it seems unlikely that he will play. He is hoping to make a comeback in the T20 World Cup next month after missing the entire Ashes due to hamstring and Achilles ailments.
Players eligible starting on January 10 are Josh Inglis (Scorchers), Alex Carey (Strikers), Khawaja (Heat), and Labuschagne (Heat). Heat will get access to Michael Neser starting on January 14. In the fifth Test, Jhye Richardson rejoined the Scorchers.
With only Thunder out of contention, the BBL table is currently quite close. Just four points separated seventh from first prior to Friday night’s matchup between the leaders, the Hurricanes and the Strikers.
Before the conclusion of the BBL finals, Australia is scheduled to depart for Pakistan, where they will play three Twenty20 Internationals in preparation for the World Cup. However, it is anticipated that players’ departures will be spaced out based on their teams’ involvement in the competition.