This summer's Big Bash League campaign could not have gone better for the Melbourne Stars but the championship favourites are suddenly facing adversity, losing Twenty20 sensation Haris Rauf and fellow fast bowler Jackson Coleman.
The Stars head into Saturday's home clash against the Perth Scorchers with a sizzling 9-1 record, including a seven-game winning streak, the latest an eight-wicket demolition of the Scorchers in Perth on Wednesday.
The Sydney Sixers and the Hobart Hurricanes each received a point after their match was abandoned in just the seventh over due to the rain at the SCG.
That was a fine team performance but they have since been forced into two changes, losing Rauf to international Twenty20 duties with Pakistan and Coleman to injury.
Rauf has been the feel-good story of the tournament. He was playing for the Glenorchy Magpies in Hobart when the Stars, through former Cricket Tasmania chief Nick Cummins, came calling - this after the Hobart Hurricanes had said he was surfeit to their needs.
That's proven a considerable mistake for the struggling Hurricanes, for Rauf - initially drafted in for the opening two BBL matches before fellow import Dale Steyn arrived - has 16 wickets in six matches, the second-best haul of any bowler.
His superb form has been rewarded with selection for his home nation in three Twenty20 matches against Bangladesh in Lahore - on January 24, 25 and 27.
After Saturday's clash against the Scorchers, the Stars' final three matches are on January 20, 22 and 25. The Stars hope Rauf will return in time for the finals, beginning January 30, although that is an elimination final - something the competition leaders will avoid.
"The club is currently working through timelines around any potential return for Rauf following the series and will announce any updates to their international roster in due course," the Stars said on Friday.
Pakistan selection chief Misbah-ul-Haq hopes Rauf can help give his side a burst of momentum, heading into the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia in October. Pakistan are the No.1 Twenty20 nation but their form has recently been poor.
"The return of Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik and Shaheen Afridi gives us the experience and depth, while the exuberance of Ahsan Ali, Amad Butt and Haris Rauf gives the team more firepower, energy and all-round skill," Misbah said.
The absence of Coleman is also a blow for the Stars, for he claimed three wickets in his first match of the season on Wednesday, and began the Scorchers' slide when he had Mitch Marsh caught slicing to backward point. He has right oblique muscle tightness but has been cleared of further injury.
Batsmen Nic Maddinson and Jonathan Merlo return to the 13-man squad but the Stars still have the advantage of having spurned internationals Marcus Stoinis and skipper Glenn Maxwell in stellar form.
The fourth-placed Scorchers have included NSW signing Kurtis Patterson for the first time. The former Test batsman has recovered from a quad strain.
Squads: Melbourne Stars: Glenn Maxwell (c), Hilton Cartwright, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Ben Dunk, Seb Gotch, Clint Hinchliffe, Sandeep Lamichhane, Nick Larkin, Nic Maddinson, Jonathan Merlo, Lance Morris, Marcus Stoinis, Daniel Worrall.
Perth Scorchers: Mitch Marsh (c), Fawad Ahmed, Cameron Bancroft, Tim David, Cameron Green, Joshua Inglis, Chris Jordan, Matthew Kelly, Liam Livingstone, Jaron Morgan, Joel Paris, Kurtis Patterson, Jhye Richardson.
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/stars-take-a-hit-with-rauf-off-to-pakistan-20200117-p53sb5.html
<br>5 matches<br>20 overs<br>119 runs<br>14 wickets<br>8.5 average<br>5.95 economy rate<br>8.5 strike rate</p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1215579094332661760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
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