The winless Melbourne Stars will be bolstered by the inclusion of their two best bats, with Glenn Maxwell and Ben Duckett locked in to face Adelaide Strikers on Friday.
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The 0-2 Stars will regain Maxwell from a hamstring injury and get a first look at their prized English import, with Duckett due to fly from New Zealand to Adelaide on Thursday to meet his teammates.
The left-hander, who scored three half centuries in his 12 games for Brisbane Heat in 2021-22, missed the first two games as he finished his Test duties with England against the Kiwis.
The Stars took the 30-year-old with the first pick in this year’s overseas player draft.
Duckett will take the place of countryman Joe Clarke, who injured his hamstring in Wednesday night’s loss to the Heat but was due to depart anyway after signing as a replacement player for the first two games.
Maxwell, who has been cleared to return from the hamstring strain he suffered while fielding in Australia’s final T20 against Pakistan, was poised to replace Campbell Kellaway, who was listed to bat at nine and bowled one over for 11 runs in the eight-wicket loss to the Heat.
It could cause a reshuffle of the Stars’ order with Tom Rogers (14 and 1) likely to slide down from an opening spot, where new captain Marcus Stoinis could return alongside Duckett.
Stars coach Peter Moores said he was pleased with the show of greater “intent” with the bat than in the tournament opener against the Scorchers but wanted to see more consistency from his side.
Thunder v Strikers: Match Highlights | 14:41
“We’ve got to move our game on by the time we get to Adelaide,” he said.
“We get Ben Duckett coming over from England, so the side freshens up a little bit anyway.
“I want us to play with a smile on our face … I thought we were fully committed (on Wednesday), plenty of energy in the field. We’ve just got to play better.”
SIXERS GUN RULED OUT FOR SEASON
Sixers gun Daniel Hughes has been ruled out of the remainder of Sydney’s BBL14 campaign, having suffered an elbow injury in his franchise’s season opener.
Hughes, 35, landed awkwardly on his elbow on Monday night whilst fielding and he immediately left the field for medical treatment.
It’s since been revealed the NSW batsmen has re-injured a ligament in his elbow, having previously fractured the same elbow in a grade cricket clash in October earlier this year.
“While the news is not what we had hoped for Daniel, and we’re obviously incredibly disappointed to lose him for the remainder of this season, we know that he’ll commit himself to his rehab over the coming months, just as he did earlier in the year,” Sixers General Manager Rachael Haynes said in a statement.
“A pleasing aspect of our group is that we have players ready to step up at any time and we know that whoever comes into the side will be prepared to play their role.
“Regardless of if he’s on the field or not, Daniel remains a core part of our group, and we’ll wrap our arms around him in the weeks ahead.”
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