Finch a game-time call for Renegades' opener

Australia's T20 World Cup winning skipper Aaron Finch will leave it as late a possible to decide whether he plays in the Melbourne Renegades BBL|11 opener on Tuesday night.

Finch is still recovering from knee surgery before the World Cup, which caused him to station himself at slip for extended periods during the tournament.

Renegades coach David Saker said they were going to leave it right until the last minute to decide if the BBL's second leading run scorer takes the field against the Adelaide Strikers at Marvel Stadium.

The return of the KFC BBL is just one sleep away with the Sydney Sixers to host the Melbourne Stars in the season opener on Sunday night, but injuries to a host of star players, as well as the Ashes and Australia A selections, have left many clubs scrambling to find late replacements.

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Here's the latest injury news and how your club shapes up ahead of their first game this week:

Adelaide Strikers

The Adelaide Strikers remain injury free as they look to attain for last season's defeat to the Brisbane Heat in the Eliminator. They'll have to do so without new Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey who will make his debut in the first Ashes Test starting on Wednesday. Travis Head is also with the Test squad vying to reclaim his place in the middle-order, while Matt Renshaw, who is with the Australia A team, is set to miss the Strikers' first three games against the Melbourne Renegades (twice) and Perth Scorchers. The Strikers are yet to name any replacement players for their Test stars.

Squad: Wes Agar, Fawad Ahmed, Alex Carey, Harry Conway, George Garton (England), Ryan Gibson, Travis Head, Spencer Johnson, Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Harry Nielsen, Liam O’Connor, Matthew Renshaw, Liam Scott, Matt Short, Peter Siddle, Jake Weatherald, Jon Wells, Daniel Worrall

Brisbane Heat

Two of the Heat's young quicks have suffered cruel injury blows on the eve of the BBL|11 season, with 21-year-old Connor Sully ruled out of the tournament due to a stress reaction in his back that came to light in the past fortnight. The right-armer was in line to make his Big Bash debut this season to go with his first-class and List A debuts for Queensland earlier in the summer. Left-arm paceman Matt Willans is also out of action as he recovers from a shoulder reconstruction after suffering an injury on the eve of last season’s BBL tournament. Sully has been replaced in the Heat's squad by West Australian left-armer Liam Guthrie, while 20-year-old Willans has been replaced by rising Queensland quick Will Prestwidge.

The Heat will also be without Test star Marnus Labuschagne and fellow Ashes squad members Michael Neser and Mitch Swepson as they begin their BBL|11 campaign. English batter Tom Abell and paceman Mark Steketee are also involved in the Australia A-England Lions tour match and will miss at least the first two games before linking back up with the squad after December 12. Former Queensland batter Nathan McSweeney has replaced Labuschagne, former Bulls quick Cameron Gannon has been added for Neser and rising Gold Coast batter Hugo Burdon comes into the squad for Swepson.

In other squad news for the Heat, overseas recruits Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Ben Duckett have been training with assistant coach Darren Lehmann in Sydney this week due to Queensland's border arrangements and will link with the team in Canberra ahead of their first game on Monday night.

Squad: Tom Abell (England), Xavier Bartlett, James Bazley, Max Bryant, Tom Cooper, Ben Duckett (England), Liam Guthrie (replacement for Connor Sully), Sam Heazlett, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne (replaced by Nathan McSweeney), Chris Lynn, Michael Neser (replaced by Cameron Gannon), Jimmy Pierson, Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan), Will Prestwidge (replacement for Matthew Willans), Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson (replaced by Hugo Burdon), Jack Wildermuth

Hobart Hurricanes

Coach Adam Griffith told cricket.com.au T20 World Cup hero Matthew Wade appears set to recover from a side strain to take his place in the Hurricanes side for their first game against Sydney Sixers on Wednesday. Express quick Riley Meredith appears more touch-and-go as he recovers from a hamstring injury. "Riley started bowling about a week ago so that's probably a more wait and see on how he's progressing through his rehab, but we're pretty hopeful we should have him if not for the first game, hopefully early in the tournament," Griffith said.

West Australian D'Arcy Short and international star Sandeep Lamichhane will also meet the squad in Sydney for their first game, while exciting English recruit Harry Brook and Scott Boland will link up with the team after the England Lions tour match in Brisbane.

Squad: Scott Boland, Harry Brook (England), Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Peter Handscomb, Caleb Jewell, Josh Kann, Sandeep Lamichhane (Nepal), Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Mitch Owen, Joel Paris, Wil Parker, Tom Rogers, D’Arcy Short, Jordan Thompson (England), Matthew Wade, Mac Wright

Melbourne Renegades

T20 World Cup winning skipper Aaron Finch will be a game-time call as to whether he suits up for the Renegades first game against the Strikers on Tuesday, coach David Saker has revealed. Finch is still recovering from right knee surgery that plagued him throughout the World Cup and caused him to field in slip for extended periods. "He might miss, he's been doing physio and it's more just getting his knee strengthened," Saker said. "He just feels uncomfortable with it at the moment. He went straight from surgery into a World Cup, and he felt that he was pretty useless in the field. We might miss him, but he might play, he still hasn't made a decision. We're going to leave it right to the last minute for him being such an important player for us."

Shaun Marsh remains in Perth with his family after suffering a calf strain while batting in the Sheffield Shield last month. Saker said they were hoping to get the 38-year-old veteran back just after Christmas. "He's tracking quite well, he's still in Perth, we're going to leave him with his family to get physio there. There's no point rushing him here until he feels that he's 100 per cent," Saker said.

Meanwhile, Marcus Harris will miss most of the season after earning a recall to the Test team, while new captain Nic Maddinson will miss the first two games against the Strikers while on Australia A duties. Young allrounder Jono Merlo has joined the squad as a replacement for Maddison, while left-hander James Seymour (who hit 59 off just 22 balls in Friday's practice match against the Stars) has been added for Marsh. Saker confirmed Kane Richardson, as the most experienced T20 player on the list, will captain while Maddinson is away, even if Finch takes the field for the first game.

Squad: Cameron Boyce, Unmukt Chand (India), Zak Evans, Aaron Finch, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sam Harper, Marcus Harris, Mackenzie Harvey, Zahir Khan (Afghanistan), Josh Lalor, Nic Maddinson (replaced by Jono Merlo), Shaun Marsh (replaced by James Seymour), Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan), James Pattinson, Mitch Perry, Jack Prestwidge, Kane Richardson, Will Sutherland, Reece Topley (England)

Melbourne Stars

Wicketkeeper Seb Gotch appears set to miss the entire tournament due to finger injury and has been replaced in the Stars squad by former Australia Test keeper Peter Nevill. Coach David Hussey confirmed Joe Clarke will take the gloves and open the batting for the season opener against the Sixers on Sunday night. Quick Billy Stanlake is also unlikely to feature in BBL|11 as he continues to recover from back stress fractures suffered during his County Championship debut for Derbyshire in May. Stanlake has been replaced by 21-year-old prospect Brody Couch. Queensland batter Joe Burns also recently had a knee arthroscopy and will miss at least the first week of the tournament. Glenn Maxwell teased one more international recruit to be named for the Stars, who is not expected to be available for the season opener, but for their first match at the MCG on December 10.

Squad: Qais Ahmad (Afghanistan), Joe Burns, Hilton Cartwright, Joe Clarke (England), Brody Couch (replacement for Billy Stanlake), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Sam Elliott, Syed Faridoun, Liam Hatcher, Clint Hinchcliffe, Nick Larkin, Glenn Maxwell, Peter Nevill (replacement for Seb Gotch), Tom O’Connell, Sam Rainbird, Marcus Stoinis, Beau Webster, Adam Zampa

Perth Scorchers

The Perth Scorchers are relatively injury free but have had a disjointed preparation due to Western Australia's COVID-19 border rules. The Scorchers only confirmed their third international signing, English fast bowler Tymal Mills, on Thursday, while fellow overseas recruits Colin Munro and Laurie Evans are in Sydney and will meet the team at Optus Stadium for their first game against the Heat on Wednesday. Jhye Richardson is vying for a place in the Test side and has been replaced in the Scorchers squad by David Moody. Perth's T20 World Cup players Mitch Marsh, Ashton Agar and Josh Inglis all returned home last Tuesday after their 14-day quarantine stint in Brisbane. Coach Adam Voges said Marsh and Inglis would return to Brisbane for the Australia A match before re-joining the squad in Hobart for their third game on December 14.

Squad: Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Cooper Connolly, Laurie Evans (England), Aaron Hardie, Peter Hatzoglou, Nick Hobson, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kelly, Mitch Marsh, Tymal Mills (England), Lance Morris, Colin Munro (New Zealand), Kurtis Patterson, Jhye Richardson (replaced by David Moody), Aston Turner (c), Andrew Tye

Sydney Sixers

Jackson Bird's Achilles issue still has the experienced swing bowler stuck on the sidelines without any cricket after suffering the injury in pre-season, but the Sixers remain hopeful he will be back on the park before Christmas. His Tasmanian teammate Lawrence Neil-Smith has been brought in as a replacement player for Bird. Ben Dwarshuis also suffered a side strain bowling for NSW last month, but the Sixers are confident he will be right to return early in the season before international star Chris Jordan departs after the fifth game. South Australian left arm seamer Nick Winter has also been signed as a replacement for Test spinner Nathan Lyon, while Sean Abbott will miss at least the first three games with Australia A duties.

Squad: Moises Henriques (c), Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird (replaced by Lawrence Neil-Smith), Daniel Christian, Tom Curran (England), Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Mickey Edwards, Daniel Hughes, Chris Jordan (England), Hayden Kerr, Nathan Lyon (replaced by Nick Winter), Ben Manenti, Stephen O'Keefe, Josh Philippe, Lloyd Pope, Jordan Silk, James Vince (England)

Sydney Thunder

Young batting talent Ollie Davies is set to miss the first couple of games for the Thunder after breaking his thumb fielding in Premier Cricket last month. Coach Trevor Bayliss was hopeful the 21-year-old power hitter would be available for the Thunder's match against the Stars on December 12 or the Heat on December 19. New South Australian quick Brendan Doggett remains in Adelaide recovering from a side strain. "He won't be too far off that timeframe as well … from all reports he's doing well, back doing some light bowling," Bayliss said. Meanwhile, Usman Khawaja's elevation to the Test squad means Alex Hales will be without his opening partner and the Thunder have brought in the in-form West Australian left-hander Sam Whiteman as a replacement. English pace sensation Saqib Mahmood will also miss the first three games with the England Lions squad in Brisbane.

Squad: Sam Billings (England), Jonathan Cook, Ben Cutting, Oliver Davies, Brendan Doggett, Matt Gilkes, Chris Green, Alex Hales (England), Baxter Holt, Usman Khawaja, Saqib Mahmood (England), Nathan McAndrew, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Gurinder Sandhu, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, Chris Tremain

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