The Adelaide Strikers received a double boost ahead of Saturday afternoon’s game against the Brisbane Heat, with captain Travis Head and wicketkeeper Alex Carey both returning.
And they made the perfect start as Harry Conway got one through Usman Khawaja (2) to bring fellow Test returnee Marnus Labuschagne to the crease.
“It’s a ripper from Conway,” Fox Cricket’s Adam Gilchrist said.
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“He just looked to turn it there. The bat face just closed.
“Interesting stroke from Usman.”
“Looked like he tried to play all around it,” commentator Dan Christian added.
“Just completely missed it.”
It was a hot start for the Heat in 39C heat, as both sides wore black tops as part of Indigenous round.
The Strikers will be hoping the star duo’s injection will be just what they need after a nine-wicket last-start defeat to the Melbourne Stars.
Speaking to the Strikers website ahead of Saturday’s game, Carey said both he and Head were “really keen” to return and help the team get back on track after the loss to the Stars.
Heat v Scorchers: Match Highlights | 03:50
“It feels great, we’ve been speaking a lot about returning to the Strikers, it’s really exciting,” he said.
“Travis and I are really keen to hopefully help the team have a strong performance. Finals aren’t too far away and we’re sitting in a decent position, but we need to win at least two, probably three of these next four, so we are really keen.”
Meanwhile, the Strikers will be looking to send Chris Lynn off with a bang before he heads overseas.
As for the Heat, the pressure is well and truly building on last-placed Brisbane, in desperate need of a win to lift itself off the bottom of the ladder.
The Heat will be batting first with Englishman Sam Hain into the starting XI for Brisbane in his debut.
Strikers XI: Wes Agar, Cameron Boyce, Alex Carey, Harry Conway, Colin de Grandhomme, Travis Head, Adam Hose, Chris Lynn, Ben Manenti, Matt Short, Peter Siddle
Heat XI: Usman Khawaja, James Bazley, Josh Brown, Sam Hain, Spencer Johnson, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Mitch Swepson
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