Cricket 2024, Sheffield Shield, BBL news: Sydney Sixers star in crosshairs of Melbourne Stars
A Sydney Sixers star could return to the BBL this season, but it may not be in the magenta after a fierce rival’s interest. Plus, the latest Australian set to play County Cricket, in Leg Buys here.
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He was the Big Bash League’s bad boy last season, but Tom Curran could be back next summer, just in different colours.
The England seam-bowling all-rounder, a regular import for the Sydney Sixers in recent seasons, is in the sights of the Melbourne Stars as part of Cricket Australia’s new multi-year pre-sign mechanism for overseas players.
Curran, 29, first played for the Sixers in 2018 and has been a staple of coach Greg Shipperd’s perennially competitive side, retained by the club in last year’s BBL draft.
He made global headlines last year when suspended for four matches for intimidating an umpire in a bizarre incident before a match against the Hobart Hurricanes in Launceston. His season was eventually ended by a knee injury.
Capped in all three formats and a member of England’s 2019 World Cup-winning squad, Curran - according to cricket sources - has attracted strong interest from the Stars.
Under the rules announced last month, clubs can sign international players ahead of the draft for up to three-year deals, provided they commit to play full seasons in the second and third year of their respective contracts.
It is an allowance for the increasing challenges associated with luring overseas players given the expanding global white-ball circuit.
Despite some speculation of a move away from the height of the BBL season, the Indian-aligned ILT20 competition in the UAE will remain in a January/February slot for next season, meaning a host of top internationals are likely to again leave the BBL before the end of the season for the UAW league and the SA20 competition in South Africa.
English wicketkeeper/batter Sam Billings was among those to depart early last season, meaning he missed the end of what proved to be a victorious campaign for the Brisbane Heat.
Billings is understood to have interest from the Sydney Thunder as part of the pre-sign window given Brisbane will only be able to sign one of Billings and Colin Munro as part of the scheme.
The BBL draft will still proceed later in the year, however there are doubts over whether Afghan players including Rashid Khan will nominate given discontent about Cricket Australia’s unwillingness to play bilateral series against Afghanistan due to the Taliban’s attitudes towards women and girls.
MEREDITH IN THE SOMER
One of Australia’s fastest bowlers is in the frame for a maiden county cricket stint with Riley Meredith attracting interest from Somerset.
Meredith, 27, is understood to be in advanced discussions about a stint around the English Twenty20 Blast competition which could also lead to County Championship and one-day cup games.
A favourite of the late great Shane Warne, Tasmanian Meredith played a lone one-day international and five Twenty20s for Australia in 2021. He was touted as a Test player of the future but has fallen back in the pecking order amid a spate of injuries.
There would be at least one familiar face at Taunton for Meredith, with Tassie great Jamie Cox - previously list boss at the Hobart Hurricanes and St Kilda’s AFL football boss - unveiled as chief executive of the county where he was also skipper.
Cox joined Somerset after a stint as the Marylebone Cricket Club’s cricket operations chief, a job in which the perks included a view of Lord’s.
Meredith would become the latest in a host of Australians playing County Cricket this year. Ben Dwarshuis, another fringe member of Australia’s white-ball setup, recently signed with Durham for the Blast as a replacement for the injured Scott Boland, whose gap in the four-day game has been filled by veteran Peter Siddle.
Cricket Australia and states have been cautious in their management of bowlers with Xavier Bartlett pulled from red-ball commitments at Kent and Nathan Lyon’s put on a tight leash at Lancashire. Kent showed interest in breakout Victorian seamer Fergus O’Neill but it did not amount to anything.
HOB TO IT
A hero of the Perth Scorchers’ thrilling win the BBL decider in February 2023, left-hander Nick Hobson looks set to stay with the club for next season.
While the Scorchers had secured most of their core players, Hobson, 29, ended last season out-of-contract but despite interest from elsewhere it appears the West Australian will stay with his hometown club.
But Perth is bracing for the loss of spinner Hamish McKenzie, with the Stars emerging as the frontrunners for his service. The Sixers, who are on the hunt for another tweaker after the retirement of Steve O’Keefe, also had interest.
Originally published as Cricket 2024, Sheffield Shield, BBL news: Sydney Sixers star in crosshairs of Melbourne Stars
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