Jake Weatherald to skip BBL for more red-ball prep after a rather underwhelming debut in the home Ashes series.
In the Hobart Hurricanes’ crucial BBL Knockout final matchup with Melbourne Stars, Jake Weatherald will not be playing since the Test opener will be concentrating on red balls.
Both teams will play in the three-against-four match at Ninja Stadium on Wednesday night after missing the opportunity to secure the top spot on the ladder in their final regular-season games.
Before Stars lost to Perth Scorchers on Saturday, the reigning champions Hurricanes mishandled a simple run chase against Brisbane Heat that would have secured first.
Since the Ashes concluded, a number of Test players, including Beau Webster of the Hurricanes, have declared themselves eligible for the BBL.
Even though Australia’s next Test isn’t until August, Hurricanes coach Jeff Vaughan revealed Weatherald, who came from Adelaide Strikers in the off-season, wouldn’t add his name to the list.
“Jake doesn’t feel ready to play this format of the game and wants to focus on red-ball cricket at the back-end of the summer,” Vaughan told reporters. “It’s something we want to support Jake on. He’s had a huge Ashes year. To play a full summer of Test cricket is pretty arduous.
“He wants to be best prepared for [Sheffield] Shield cricket … and ensure he is the No.1 opening batsman in Australia.”
Rehan Ahmed, an English import who left the team for the Sri Lankan tour, might be replaced by three or four players, according to Vaughan.
With the victory target in sight, he claimed that complacency might have slipped in and that Hurricanes had debriefed since a horrific collapse against Heat.
The outcome could be affected by the showers predicted for Hobart on Wednesday night; if there is no result, the Hurricanes advance as the higher-ranked team.