Jake Weatherald will not play for the Hobart Hurricanes in Wednesday’s match against the Brisbane Heat, with a debut in purple expected to come in time for BBL|15 finals
Weatherald's debut in purple primed for BBL|15 finals stage
Title-winning coach Jeff Vaughan is confident there are “no issues” in introducing Jake Weatherald to the line-up for his Hurricanes debut during the BBL|15 Finals.
The nation’s newest Test opener has been ruled out of Wednesday’s match against the Brisbane Heat at Ninja Stadium as he manages “a few niggles” and gets some rest after Australia’s 4-1 Ashes triumph, meaning a maiden appearance in purple will likely come in either The Qualifier or The Knockout on 20 or 21 January respectively.
The uncapped Hobart recruit hops aboard the ‘Cane Train after nine seasons at the Adelaide Strikers, which included BBL|07 title honours and a match-winning 115 from 70 balls in that same game.
“He’s had a long summer himself and a great summer for a young lad to play in a full Ashes series,” Vaughan said regarding Weatherald at Hobart Airport.
“He’s had a few niggles that he’s just worked through and had a couple of days off, but we’re expecting him post the Brisbane Heat game.
“He’s got great history in this tournament and great history in finals in this tournament as well. We’ll sit down after the Heat game again and work out again what’s the best structure for whatever the finals look like.”
Swinging changes from game-to-game has been the norm for the Hurricanes in their mission to defend last season’s maiden BBL title.
Outside of their first two matches, Vaughan’s charges have made at least one change to their starting XI, be it through injury, unavailability or for tactical reasons against particular opposition.
The Hurricanes will lose international allrounder Rehan Ahmed prior to finals as he links up with England’s T20 World Cup squad, forcing at least one change for next week’s final.
Although yet to produce “the perfect game” despite sitting on top of the BBL|15 ladder, Vaughan credited his side’s commitment to being flexible and adapting to the needs of each game as a major driver behind this season’s successes.
“It’s something that we speak a little bit about. We’re not craving the perfect game either,” Vaughan said.
“I think it’s naïve if we feel we can play a perfect game. What we do feel though is we’ve got 13, or 14 or 15 cricketers who can come in and play multiple roles.
“We feel as though whichever structure we go with, the captain has lots of options with the ball and in the field, and we’ve got a lot of batters who can be really flexible in the order.
“We’re constantly shifting players up and down the batting order. We feel as though we’ve got lots of players who can be really flexible and are committed to any role they’re asked to play.
“We do a lot of our selection and team make-up around the opposition, the venue and how we want to structure or how we want to play our game.
“Some of it’s through injury and illness and unavailability, but we’re very confident that our playing group are really open to flexibility. Players come in and players perform their role and know the reasoning behind adjustments in the team.”
Pleasingly for the Hurricanes, Nathan Ellis will be available for the remainder of the campaign after being managed for their last match against the Sixers.
Conversations between the Hurricanes and Cricket Australia, which were “flagged very early on”, to ensure Ellis was in optimal shape heading into the T20 World Cup next month ultimately had little bearing on the ‘Canes finals hopes.
Rain saw the match between the Hurricanes and Sixers abandoned by the fifth over, with the point acquired from the washed-out fixture confirming the former’s place in finals.
“We’ve had a really condensed schedule, so it’s something that they have spoken to us about,” Vaughan said regarding Ellis.
“They’re trying to manage him and he’s got a very big and important six to nine months ahead. It was flagged very early, there were good conversations throughout and we’ve worked together and supported our player as well.
“It was a good result and it didn’t affect us (with the washout), but he will be right to go for the duration of the tournament now.”
Although rain deprived them the chance to test themselves against the high-calibre Sydney Sixers, now armed to the teeth with talent and headlined by the returning Steve Smith, the Hurricanes will face an equally demanding contest against the Brisbane Heat on Wednesday.
A win against the Heat, now bolstered by the inclusions of Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and Michael Neser, will confirm a home final for The Qualifier at Ninja Stadium.
“They’ve obviously got a couple of additions with Uzz and Marnus coming back into their team. They are a class outfit,” Vaughan said.
“We’re expecting a really good wicket again at home, we’re expecting a high-scoring venue, we’re expecting a big crowd, so it’s going to be a tough match-up for us, but this is the tournament.
“We’re very much looking forward to — and hoping and doing everything we can to — win on Wednesday night to solidify top spot and host at least the first final.”
KFC BBL|15 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
HUR
|
9 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0.398 | 0 | 13 |
|
2
SCO
|
8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.162 | 0 | 10 |
|
3
STA
|
8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.909 | 0 | 10 |
|
4
SIX
|
8 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.458 | 0 | 9 |
|
5
HEA
|
8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | -0.446 | 0 | 8 |
|
6
STR
|
8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -0.42 | 0 | 6 |
|
7
REN
|
8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -0.686 | 0 | 6 |
|
8
THU
|
9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -1.182 | 0 | 4 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points