Josh Inglis will not play another BBL match this season as he recovers from his calf injury before the Test tour of Sri Lanka, but Perth Scorchers could receive a boost as they wait on the availability of Mitchell Marsh after he was dropped from Australia's Test side.
Inglis suffered a calf injury while fielding as a substitute for Australia during the Boxing Day Test where he was part of the squad as a back-up batter. He is certain to be part of Australia's Test tour to Sri Lanka with the squad set to leave for a pre-tour camp in the UAE around January 19, ahead of the BBL finals.
It is understood Inglis has been ruled out of Scorchers' remaining five matches before leaving for the tour in order to recover from the calf injury. Inglis will be the second wicketkeeper on the Test tour behind incumbent Alex Carey, but is a chance to make his Test debut as a batter only if Australia reshuffle the line-up for the spin-friendly conditions with Travis Head a chance to open the batting in spinning conditions as he did in India in 2023.
Scorchers are, however, hopeful that Marsh could be made available after he was omitted from the Test side on Thursday. He will not be able to travel to Perth in time to play Scorchers' next match with Sydney Thunder on Friday night, but could be available for the next home game on Tuesday, January 7 against Melbourne Renegades. If he didn't travel home for that game, he could stay in Sydney as Scorchers then have two matches there against Sixers and Thunder on January 11 and 13.
Adam Voges, the Scorchers coach, said he was in touch with Cricket Australia with the hope that Marsh could play for Scorchers at some point.
"We're all really disappointed that Mitch has been left out of the Sydney Test," Voges said on Thursday. "It's a real shame for him. I guess, for us, we'd love to see him in orange at some point throughout the rest of this Big Bash campaign, and we'll be in communication with Mitch and with Cricket Australia over the next 24-48 hours.
"It won't be tomorrow. But we'll certainly be in communication with them and just to understand Mitch's availability. But yeah, certainly hopeful that we'll see him at some point."
Jhye Richardson could also be made available for all three of those matches. He was released from the Test squad to play against Adelaide Strikers on New Year's Eve in Adelaide and took 3 for 29 before heading back to Sydney. He won't play against Thunder on Friday as he will remain in Sydney for the opening day of the Test match but could be released alongside Marsh for January 7.
"There's a number of moving parts and with guys in and out of Test squad, and with Jhye not being named in the Sydney Test either, then we'll have that conversation around his availability for the game on the 7th or the trip to Sydney," Voges said.
Scorchers' last clash of the BBL home and away season is against Strikers in Perth on January 18. It remains to be seen whether Marsh and/or Richardson play in that game, depending on selection of the squad for Sri Lanka. Australia are likely to take at least three fast bowlers to Sri Lanka and skipper Pat Cummins is set to miss at least the first Test because of the birth of his second child, while Josh Hazlewood is still recovering from a calf injury. It means Richardson could be in the frame for a spot on the tour alongside Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland. It is unlikely they will play more than two fast bowlers in either Test in Galle, and could only play one in the XI, but the selectors will want fast-bowling cover.
Head and Carey could both be available for Strikers after the Sydney Test but it remains to be seen whether they would play the final game in Perth before heading overseas shortly after.