Availability planner: Player movements + Injury ward

Following the Big Bash fixtures is one thing, following the player movement across the tournament is another.

Like the fixtures though, some small study will make navigating BBL14 easy enough, so don’t be daunted as players drop in and out of teams.

Firstly, a big thanks to Benny from Honeyball who has done plenty of the legwork in bringing together the international calendar which I’ve used to aid this article. 

Secondly, with the fluidity of availability, we cannot recommend enough joining the subscribers WhatsApp chat to stay up to the minute with all of the action.

The BBL season runs from 15 December to January 19 so keep those dates in mind.

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Notable Series + Impacted Players

Series: Australia vs India Tests

Dates: 22 November – 7 January

Impacted Players: Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne (Brisbane Heat), Steve Smith (Sydney Sixers), Travis Head, Alex Carey (Adelaide Strikers), Mitchell Marsh, Josh Inglis (Perth Scorchers), Nathan Lyon (Melbourne Renegades), Scott Boland (Melbourne Stars).

Analysis: No Test players are expected to play Big Bash until at least the end of tournament. With a tour of Sri Lanka after the home summer, some players may opt to rest. We may see the ‘reserves’ in Josh Inglis, Beau Webster and Scott Boland released which is relevant given their early double game weeks.

Series: New Zealand vs England Tests

Dates: 28 November – 18 December

Impacted Players: Ben Duckett (Melbourne Stars), Ollie Pope (Adelaide Strikers), Jacob Bethell (Melbourne Renegades)

Analysis: The three impacted players all have early double game weeks. Duckett and Bethell likely miss their opening double, but should be available for their sides second double game rounds in Rounds 3 and 4 respectively.

Ollie Pope is expected to return around the Strikers round 2 double, whether or not that’s for one or two games is uncertain.

Series: West Indies vs Bangladesh, White Ball

Dates: 9 December – 20 December

Impacted Players: Akeal Hosein (Sydney Sixers), Shai Hope (Hobart Hurricanes), Fabian Allen (Adelaide Strikers), Sherfane Rutherford (Sydney Thunder), Rishad Hossain (Hobart Hurricanes)

Analysis: We may not see any impacted players until Round 3, or in the case of Hossain, at all. This means Hosein will arrive just in time for the Sixers double, while Allen likely misses his in Round 2.

Fabian Allen missed selection in the West Indies most recent white ball campaign so may yet be available for the Strikers opening round.

Series: South Africa vs Pakistan, White Ball

Dates: 11 December – 22 December

Impacted Players: Usama Mir (Melbourne Stars)

Analysis: Usama Mir missed recent international selection, however he hasn’t been cleared by the Pakistan Board to begin his BBL campaign with the Stars until December 26 (Round 3).

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Series: New Zealand vs Sri Lanka, White Ball

Dates: 28 December – 11 January

Impacted Players: Lockie Ferguson (Sydney Thunder), Finn Allen (Perth Scorchers)

Analysis: Both players should not be impacted by this series, with NZ Cricket respecting their wishes to play in the BBL.

Series: SA T20

Dates: 9 January – 4 February

Impacted Players: Jacob Bethell (Melbourne Renegades), Marcus Stoinis (Melbourne Stars)

Analysis: Remaining availability for the impacted players is likely to depend on how their teams are tracking towards finals. If out of contention both could depart before the end of the tournament.

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Series: ILT20

Dates: 11 January – 9 February

Impacted Players: Laurie Evans, Tim Seifert, Jake Fraser-McGurk (Melbourne Renegades), Lockie Ferguson, Sam Billings, David Warner, Dan Sams, Sherfane Rutherford (Sydney Thunder), Shai Hope, Matthew Wade, Chris Jordan, Peter Hatzoglou (Hobart Hurricanes), Jamie Overton (Adelaide Strikers), James Vince, Akeal Hosein (Sydney Sixers), Tom Curran (Melbourne Stars), Ashton Agar (Perth Scorchers)

Analysis: Availability will depend on if the players were drafted or signed multi-year deals prior to the draft. As above, departure from the Big Bash should coincide with their type of deal and if their side is in contention for finals. Of relevance are the Thunder and Hurricanes who have the latest double game rounds of the season.

Series: India vs England, White Ball

Dates: 22 January – 12 February

Impacted Players: TBC, likely Jacob Bethel (Melbourne Renegades), Jamie Overton (Adelaide Strikers), Ben Duckett (Melbourne Stars), Jafer Chohan (Sydney Sixers)

Analysis: This is only expected to impact the final two rounds of the tournament. With no squad yet announced, stay tuned to our channels for the intel.

Other

Usama Mir: Pakistan have cleared Mir to begin his BBL campaign with the Stars from December 26 (Round 3).

INJURY WARD

STRIKERS

Jording Buckingham: Rib/strain, in doubt for opener

James Bazley: Side strain, likely available for opener

HEAT

Michael Neser: Hamstring, likely available for opener

HURRICANES

Nil

RENEGADES

Will Sutherland: TBC

STARS

Glenn Maxwell: Grade two hamstring injury, in major doubt for opening fixture

SCORCHERS

Cooper Connolly: Broken hand, expected to miss early stages of tournament

Ashton Agar: Shoulder injury, TBC

SIXERS

Nil

THUNDER

Lockie Ferguson: Calf injury, in doubt for opening stages