Perth [Australia], December 2 (ANI): Perth Scorchers have been dealt major blows to their Big Bash League (BBL) title defence with Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh and England batter Phil Salt both ruled out of the entire BBL due to injury.
“Marsh had keyhole surgery on his left ankle in Sydney yesterday to repair a longstanding injury and is expected to be sidelined for approximately three months. The star allrounder is Perth’s all-time leading run-scorer and was a central component of the Scorchers’ title-winning BBL|11 sides,” Perth Scorchers said in an official statement.
“Salt sustained a grade two ligament injury on his left shoulder while diving for a ball during the third Dettol One-Day International between Australia and England at the MCG on 22 November. Due to advice from a leading shoulder specialist in the UK and factoring the timeframe of his recovery, Salt is unavailable for BBL|12,” it further read.
A dynamic top-order batter, Salt was drafted to Perth during the Silver round of the inaugural BBL|12 Draft.
Perth is exploring its options to recruit replacement local and international players ahead of the Club’s season-opener against Sydney Sixers at Optus Stadium on December 17.
South African Faf du Plessis recently signed for the first half of the Scorchers’ campaign, replacing Englishman Laurie Evans.
“Losing Mitch and Phil so close to the start of the season is very disappointing. Mitch is one of the best ball-strikers in global cricket with an incredible MBBL record, and his leadership and presence around the group is enormous. Phil has proven his class for England and in T20 tournaments around the world, so it’s unfortunate he won’t pull on the orange this summer,” Perth Scorchers General Manager – High-Performance Kade Harvey said in an official statement released by Perth Scorchers.
“We’re under no illusions about how difficult it will be to cover the absence of Mitch and Phil, but we take pride in the depth of our squad and have a lot of players capable of stepping up. The whole organisation remains as motivated as ever to win a fifth MBBL championship,” he further added.
Perth Scorchers squad for BBL|12: Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Cooper Connolly, Faf du Plessis (international – South Africa), Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Peter Hatzoglou, Nick Hobson, Josh Inglis, Matt Kelly, Tymal Mills (international – England), Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson, Ashton Turner (captain) and Andrew Tye. (ANI)