Under CA’s new marquee regulations, Marnus Labuschagne re-signs with the Brisbane Heat, while Will Sutherland re-signs with the Renegades and Mac Wright re-signs with the Hurricanes.
Paris will play for his third BBL team, following stints with the Perth Scorchers and the Hobart Hurricanes.
The Melbourne Stars have recruited Western Australia left-arm swing bowler Joel Paris as they attempt to improve their bowling supply after a poor BBL season last season.
Paris will play for his third BBL team, following stints with the Perth Scorchers and the Hobart Hurricanes. Paris has been a standout performer for Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield, where he has been a key element of their attack in back-to-back Shield victories, earning him selection for Australia A in four-day cricket.
However, he has been a periphery T20 bowler for several years, having played only 37 BBL games in ten seasons. Between 2013 and 2020, he played only 25 games with the Perth Scorchers, having been carefully managed through some injury-plagued seasons, with the Scorchers mostly utilizing him as a reserve for Jason Behrendorff and keeping him healthy for red-ball duty with WA. He joined the Hobart Hurricanes in 2021 to play more T20 cricket, although he only played 12 games in two seasons. His greatest performance came last season at the Gabba in swinging conditions, when he took 2 for 15 from four overs, including 13 dot balls.
The Stars place a premium on left-arm pace bowlers, having drafted two international left-armers in Trent Boult and Luke Wood previous season. With no promises that either would return, and the need to spend their No.1 overseas draft pick on a quality spinner following the loss of Adam Zampa, the Stars took the opportunity to add Paris to the team after also signing Australia Test quick Scott Boland.
“We identified a need in our team for more left armers who could swing the ball, so to secure someone of Joel’s experience is fantastic for the squad,” said Stars General Manager Blair Crouch.
“He has been a part of a very successful system in Perth for a number of years and knows what success looks like; we hope he can emulate that during his time with the Stars.”
Paris is also a long-time WA teammate of the Stars’ Marcus Stoinis, Hilton Cartwright, and Nathan Coulter-Nile, who is also expected to return for another season.
Meanwhile, the Heat have re-signed Marnus Labuschagne for a second season as part of the BBL’s new marquee supplemental list for Cricket Australia contracted players. The new rules allow BBL franchises to sign as many CA-signed players as they want under the AUD$3 million pay ceiling for their regular 18-man squad, as well as two more players outside of the budget. These players would be on a typical AUD$50,000 contract.
Only if they play will their AUD$50,000 agreement and AUD$30,000 match fees count toward the cap. If the player’s availability is due to unforeseen circumstances, CA will also allow clubs to use money from the following season’s cap to accommodate them.
This is likely to be activated only for players who have been dropped from Australian duty or if international fixtures alter. It is to avoid a repeat of the last two seasons, when Steven Smith was unable to play for the Sydney Sixers due to league contracting regulations, despite becoming eligible due to international scheduling adjustments.
Labuschagne has been a regular member of Australia’s Test team since 2019. Due to his Test commitments, he has had restricted availability in the BBL for the Heat but has still managed to play three, six, two, and eight games in each of the Heat’s last four seasons. However, he has been signed under the Heat’s salary cap each season with no promises of his availability. With Australia playing Test matches during the BBL season, he is unlikely to play much this season, but the Heat were eager to sign him if he became available on short notice.
“We’ve seen the enormous impact that Marnus can have not only on a match, but more importantly on a season and the entire squad, even if he’s only available for a few games, so we treated his re-signing as a priority,” Heat coach Wade Seccombe said.
“We don’t know how many games he’ll be available for because of his international commitments, but we know what he’ll bring to the table on and off the field whenever he puts on the Heat jersey.”
Will Sutherland, a potential allrounder, has been re-signed by the Melbourne Renegades to a two-year contract that will keep him at the club until the end of the 2024-25 season.
Mac Wright, a 25-year-old batter, has been re-signed by the Hobart Hurricanes for the upcoming 2023-24 season.
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