'Bewildered' Sixers lose Burns for entire WBBL season

Sydney Sixers will be without Erin Burns for the remainder of Weber WBBL|07, with border restrictions preventing the key allrounder from joining the squad.

Burns did not travel to Hobart with her Sydney- and Canberra-based Sixers teammates in late September, instead electing to spend extra time at home having only recently been released from hotel quarantine after her return from The Hundred in England.

The 33-year-old had hoped to enter mandatory isolation in Tasmania in time to join her teammates for the Launceston leg of the tournament. But when an exemption could not be gained from the Tasmanian government, entry applications were made for her to quarantine in either South Australia or Queensland – which would have allowed her to join the club in Adelaide or Mackay – but she was also unable to secure an exemption from those states.

"I’m gutted I can’t join the Sixers because WBBL is always such a highlight of the season and so not to be able to pull on the magenta with the girls is devastating," Burns said.

"I have so much confidence in this group to do a great job and I will be following closely."

When they leave Tasmania, the Sixers will play in Perth, Adelaide and Mackay through the remainder of WBBL|07.

The schedule bypasses both New South Wales and Victoria due to ongoing border closures, although the league has not given up hope of those states hosting finals should a Melbourne or Sydney club finish on top of the table – a scenario that would allow Burns to re-join the group.

Cricket NSW's Acting Head of Female Cricket, Clare Crewdson, said that CNSW and Cricket Australia had been unsuccessful in solving the border crossing challenges.

"We tried all that we could, but it was to no avail," Crewdson said.

"We are disappointed for Erin and her teammates and a little bewildered as to why we were unable to achieve what other sports have, by moving players and families across borders to fulfil their jobs.

"But at the end of the day we respect the decisions and processes implemented by State Governments and feel for those people locked out of states that are unable to see family and friends."

The club has no current plans to replace Burns in their 15-player squad.

Ongoing border closures meant the majority of players involved in WBBL|07 have undergone some sort of hotel quarantine in recent months.

Of the 117 primary-list players who travelled to Tasmania (with Burns, Rachael Haynes and the injured Rachel Trenaman never making it to Hobart), 71 went through hotel quarantine ahead of the competition, including the 12 Australia players and eight India players who did their isolation in early September in Queensland ahead of the international series.

While 11 CA-contracted Australia players withdrew from The Hundred due to concerns around quarantine and extended periods on the road, eight domestically contracted players travelled to the UK for the competition.

Of those, Sydney-based Sammy-Jo Johnson and Canberra-based Katie Mack opted not to return home after being released from quarantine, to avoid a second fortnight of isolation ahead of the WBBL.

Sydney-based Sixers coach Ben Sawyer, who coached the Birmingham Phoenix and who is also an Australia assistant, left for The Hundred in July expecting to be away from his family for five weeks, but instead will not see them until the end of November, having travelled directly from Sydney to Brisbane after being released.

It was that extended time away from family that encouraged Burns to delay joining the Big Bash, to allow her extra time with her wife Anna, who is expecting the couple's first child in early 2022.

"It's a really exciting time," Burns told cricket.com.au after her return from The Hundred.

"A little bubba on the way in January and we're slaves to the mortgage now.

"We're really excited about those steps and hopefully 2020 brings some more freedoms and if not, we still got some really exciting things to look forward to.

"We've known that we wanted to have children for quite some time, and it was just (a question of) when's the right time? And the answer is there's never a right time.

"We were fortunate that got through our IVF stuff (before Sydney's 2021 lockdown).

'We had a good experience and feel very fortunate that we were able to get it done and it's all going along nicely."