Aussie Test stars offset BBL's overseas departures

1st. Perth Scorchers

Played: 8 | Won: 6 | Lost: 2 | NR: 0 | Points: 12 | NRR: 0.842

The competition leaders lose their opening combination of Faf du Plessis and Adam Lyth with the former heading home to South Africa and the latter off to the UAE.

It was a strong return from the former Proteas Test skipper, hitting 163 runs at a strike rate of 153.77.

For Lyth though, it was a campaign to forget, scoring 73 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 96.05.

Into their squad comes England's Stephen Eskinazi, who made his Scorchers debut as opener on Saturday night against the Heat, and English left-arm quick David Payne, both of whom are available for the remainder of the tournament.

From a Test squad point of view, Lance Morris has already returned and Ashton Agar will too once the Sydney Test concludes.

The reigning champions had also hoped star allrounder Cameron Green would be available for the back end of the tournament but a fractured finger sustained while batting during the Boxing Day Test sees him in a race against time to be fit for the first Test against India next month.

BBL|12 squad: Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Cooper Connolly, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Peter Hatzoglou, Nick Hobson, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kelly, Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson, Ashton Turner (c), Andrew Tye. Replacement players: Faf du Plessis (South Africa), Adam Lyth (England), Stephen Eskinazi (England), Hamish McKenzie, David Payne (England), Chris Sabburg

Injuries: Mitch Marsh (ankle – season), Cameron Green (finger – season), Jhye Richardson (hamstring – TBC), Hamish McKenzie (side – TBC)

Departed: Faf du Plessis, Adam Lyth

2nd. Sydney Sixers

Played: 9 | Won: 5 | Lost: 3 | NR: 1 | Points: 11 | NRR: -0.213

The Sixers will say goodbye to James Vince, Chris Jordan and Naveen-ul-Haq Murid after Sunday night's Sydney Smash, with all three off to the UAE's T20 league.

Vince hit some form with a match-winning 91 not out against the Stars to tally 258 runs from nine matches.

Frustratingly, Jordan is off after only four matches and Naveen will be gone after two, but fellow Afghan Izharulhaq Naveed will remain available for selection.

They'll get a massive boost when Steve Smith and Nathan Lyon join the squad following the Sydney Test for four matches, but should the Sixers make the BBL|12 Final the duo will already be en route to India.

BBL|12 squad: Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird, Dan Christian, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Mickey Edwards, Moises Henriques (c), Daniel Hughes, Chris Jordan (England), Hayden Kerr, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Izharulhaq Naveed (Afghanistan), Steve O'Keefe, Kurtis Patterson, Josh Philippe, Jordan Silk, James Vince (England). Replacement players: Steve Smith, Josh Kann, Naveen-ul-Haq Murid (Afghanistan)

Departing: James Vince, Chris Jordan, Naveen-ul-Haq Murid

3rd. Sydney Thunder

Played: 8 | Won: 5 | Lost: 3 | NR: 0 | Points: 10 | NRR: 0.172

With Alex Hales off to the UAE and Rilee Rossouw off to South Africa, the Thunder's top order is going to look a lot different for the second half of the tournament.

While Hales produced some quality innings (245 runs, 142.44 strike rate) it was a troubling tournament for Rossouw (127 runs, 118.69 strike rate) who couldn't emulate his T20 World Cup heroics.

Australia opener David Warner is slated to appear in the competition for the first time since BBL|03 (or nine seasons ago) with the dynamic left hander available for the final five matches of the Thunder's home and away campaign.

Pakistan spinner Usman Qadir has already played four matches as a replacement international player for the Thunder and will continue through until the end of the tournament.

BBL|12 squad: Ben Cutting, Oliver Davies, Brendan Doggett, Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Alex Hales (England), Baxter Holt, Nathan McAndrew, Blake Nikitaras, Alex Ross, Rilee Rossouw (South Africa), Daniel Sams, Gurinder Sandhu, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, David Warner, Sam Whiteman. Replacement players: Usman Qadir (Pakistan), Toby Gray, Joel Davies, Ross Pawson

Injuries: Jason Sangha (collarbone – season), Gurinder Sandhu (calf – TBC), Tanveer Sangha (back – TBC)

Departing: Alex Hales, Rilee Rossouw

4th. Melbourne Renegades

Played: 9 | Won: 5 | Lost: 4 | NR: 0 | Points: 10 | NRR: 0.091

The Renegades picked smartly at the inaugural KFC BBL Draft by selecting spinners Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Akeal Hosein, both who have been brilliant in the first half of the season.

However, now their depth will be tested as both depart of the ILT20 competition in the UAE.

Hosein took 13 wickets and Mujeeb eight while both conceded fewer than seven runs per over.

They have Sri Lanka leg-spinner Ruwantha Kellapotha to call upon as an international replacement and the same goes for Martin Guptill, who has already played five matches in red.

The one bonus for the 'Gades too has been Marcus Harris, who slotted straight in as opener on Saturday night.

BBL|12 squad: Zak Evans, Aaron Finch, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Peter Handscomb, Sam Harper, Marcus Harris, Mackenzie Harvey, Akeal Hosein (West Indies), Nic Maddinson (c), Shaun Marsh, Jack Prestwidge, Kane Richardson, Corey Rocchiccioli, Tom Rogers, Will Sutherland, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Jon Wells. Replacement players: Ruwantha Kellapotha (Sri Lanka), Andre Russell (West Indies), Martin Guptill (New Zealand), David Moody, Fawad Ahmed

Injuries: Nic Maddinson (knee – season), Shaun Marsh (hamstring – two weeks)

Departed: Andre Russell, Akeal Hosein, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

5th. Adelaide Strikers

Played: 8 | Won: 4 | Lost: 4 | NR: 0 | Points: 9 | NRR: 0.925

The Strikers will be dealt a double blow with their leading run-scorer Chris Lynn (324 runs) and their most economical bowler Rashid Khan (6.42 economy) both leaving the BBL – Lynn to link up with the Gulf Giants in the UAE's ILT20 and Rashid to the SA20.

Lynn's recruitment can be seen as a huge plus after the veteran was let go by the Brisbane Heat and initially struggled to garner any interest from the Big Bash sides.

Rashid didn't take as many wickets (six) as we're used to from the Afghan spinner, but his control and ability to deliver with the ball in the difficult Power Surge will be missed.

Lynn will play his last game of BBL|12 against the Heat on January 14, while Rashid left following the Strikers record chase over the Hurricanes last Thursday.

Test stars Travis Head and Alex Carey should rejuvenate the Strikers' top order and will be available for the final five matches of the regular season with Colin de Grandhomme and Adam Hose are hanging around too.

BBL|12 squad: Wes Agar, Cameron Boyce, Alex Carey, Harry Conway, Ryan Gibson, Colin de Grandhomme (New Zealand), Travis Head, Adam Hose (England), Henry Hunt, Thomas Kelly, Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Chris Lynn, Ben Manenti, Harry Nielsen, Matt Short, Peter Siddle, Henry Thorton, Jake Weatherald. Replacement player: Jordan Buckingham

Injuries: Peter Siddle (soreness – one match), Jake Weatherald (abdominal – TBC)

Departed: Rashid Khan

6th. Hobart Hurricanes

Played: 8 | Won: 3 | Lost: 5 | NR: 0 | Points: 6 | NRR: -0.588

Having already said farewell to Jimmy Neesham, the Hurricanes also have to waved goodbye to Shadab Khan for now, although they hope he will return later this month after Pakistan's three-match ODI series against New Zealand finishes on January 13.

Shadab, who took seven wickets in five games, suffered a fractured finger just before he was due to depart for international duties and it's now a wait-and-see situation to whether he does return.

Zak Crawley has come in as Shadab's replacement and made an instant impact with a half century against the Strikers.

Pakistan imports Asif Ali and Faheem Ashraf haven’t set the tournament alight yet but are hanging around to see if they can lift the Hurricanes into finals.

BBL|12 squad: Asif Ali (Pakistan), Faheem Ashraf (Pakistan), Iain Carlisle, Tim David, Paddy Dooley, Nathan Ellis, Caleb Jewell, Shadab Khan (Pakistan), Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Mitch Owen, Joel Paris, Wil Parker, D'Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Chris Tremain, Matthew Wade, Mac Wright. Replacement players: Zak Crawley (England), Jimmy Neesham (New Zealand), Tim Paine, Tom Andrews

Injuries: Billy Stanlake (hamstring – season), Paddy Dooley (finger – TBC)

Departed: Jimmy Neesham

7th. Brisbane Heat

Played: 8 | Won: 2 | Lost: 5 | NR: 1 | Points: 5 | NRR: -0.943

The Heat have had some strong returns from their high-profile recruits Sam Billings and Colin Munro, but now both leave Brisbane for the Desert Vipers in the United Arab Emirates.

English draftee Ross Whiteley will remain while the Heat will add Gold Coast-raised Englishman Sam Hain to the squad as an international replacement player.

On the Test squad side of things, Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja shape as a like-for-like replacement for the departing pair to bolster the top order with the Aussie duo looking good for potentially all the Heat's remaining six matches.

BBL|12 squad: Xavier Bartlett, James Bazley, Sam Billings (England), Max Bryant, Sam Heazlett, Spencer Johnson, Usman Khawaja (c), Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Colin Munro (New Zealand), Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Will Prestwidge, Matthew Renshaw, Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson, Ross Whiteley (England), Jack Wildermuth. Replacement players: Josh Brown, Sam Hain (England), Nathan McSweeney

Departed: Sam Billings, Colin Munro

8th. Melbourne Stars

Played: 8 | Won: 2 | Lost: 6 | NR: 0 | Points: 4 | NRR: -0.516

Unfortunately for the bottom-placed Stars their world-class strike bowler Trent Boult is done for BBL|12, heading off to the UAE ILT20 competition.

The Kiwi took eight wickets in as many matches but probably didn't dominate as many Stars fans would have hoped.

There are no Test squad players or international replacements coming in at this stage but imports Joe Clarke and Luke Wood are hanging around for the entire season.

BBL|12 squad: Trent Boult (New Zealand), Joe Burns, Hilton Cartwright, Joe Clarke (England), Brody Couch, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Sam Elliott, Liam Hatcher, Clint Hinchliffe, Campbell Kellaway, Nick Larkin, Glenn Maxwell (c), Cameron McClure, Tom O'Connell, Marcus Stoinis, Beau Webster, Luke Wood (England), Adam Zampa. Replacement players: Tom Rogers, James Seymour

Injuries: Glenn Maxwell (leg – season), Joe Burns (hamstring - season), Marcus Stoinis (hamstring – TBC)

Departed: Trent Boult