Melbourne Stars opening batsman Tom Rogers is set to undergo scans on Wednesday evening on his knee after suffering an injury in Tuesday night’s win over the Adeliade Strikers.

STARS INJURY UPDATES

Rogers hobbled from the field after a desperate lunge in the outfield during the Strikers’ batting innings. He didn’t bat for the Stars, with his absence forcing a slight re-shuffle with Sam Harper opening and Glenn Maxwell coming in at 4, rather than 6 where he was listed.

Honeyball understands he’ll have scans on Christmas Eve after the Stars flew back from Adelaide to Melbourne on Wednesday.

The results will be confirmed when they announce their squad on Christmas Day for the Boxing Day game against the Sydney Sixers in Sydney.

Stars captain Marcus Stoinis also appeared to suffer a shoulder injury in the field, but soldiered on. He actually bowled after that and batted uninhibited, so should be fine.

CURRAN ON HIS BOWLING ROLE

Tom Curran has had a different bowling role this season, including bowling 3 of the first 10 overs against the Strikers, with Haris Rauf, Peter Siddle and Marcus Stoinis used at the death.

Curran told Fox Cricket: “It’s also a bit kinder. It feels a bit nicer to have the ball in hand when it’s doing something.

“Our attack, the way we shaped up, with Haris Rauf and Peter Siddle, high speeds, yorkers, skills, it just gives us a bit more flexibility. I got given the opportunity to take the new ball. Managed to get a wicket in the first over last game and today it was nice to do the same.

“The mindset, trying to take wickets, is different. Sometimes bowling that back-end of that power play, it’s easy to think defensively and damage limitation. It’s trying to bowl my best ball and get that batter out.”

HARPER OPENING ‘EASY CALL’

Curran had positive words for wicketkeeper Sam Harper who smoked a half-century after being elevated to open the batting after Rogers’ injury.

He said: “Sammy Harper is coming into the tournament in some great form. He’s come in and taken his chance again.

“Pretty easy call (to open with Harper), because of how much he’s opened the batting. It was probably the flip of a coin who was going to open between the two of them anyway. Sammy Harper is really versatile. To come in last minute, he did amazingly well.”

PERTH PRAISE FOR BATTING PAIR

Scorchers assistant coach Tim MacDonald heaped praise on the form of Cooper Connolly. He told 91.3 Sport FM: “The form he’s been in the last month, he continually hits the ball very cleanly at training.

“In the Big Bash he’s hit the ball so crisply. He’s in sublime touch. He loves big occasions and big moments.”

MacDonald also revealed opening batsman Finn Allen is determined to improve on last season’s sub-par return. He said: “He hits it harder than a lot of guys I’ve seen. He’s really exciting.

“He’s played a lot of cricket around the world and been in a lot of those situations. It’s his second year in orange and he’s really keen to have a big impact on the competition and help us win games of cricket.”

MacDonald also revealed fast bowler Matt Kelly is sidelined with injury. He said: “Matt Kelly has got a little niggle that he’s working through. He’ll bowl again today. He might be a week or 2 away.”

CHAUDHARY IS MR FIXIT

Hobart Hurricanes coach Jeff Vaughan spoke to SEN about the form and role of Nikhil Chaudhary. He said: “We’re rapt for him. He’s a bit of a Mr Fixit for us.

“He bats in multiple positions, he’s good with the ball, good in the field. We’re seen him at the top of the order this year, he’s had a couple of good performances already.”

ABBOTT SET TO RETURN

The Sydney Sixers are expected to welcome back Sean Abbott for their Boxing Day clash with the Melbourne Stars having missed their opening three with a hamstring injury.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Abbott said: “Good to go on Friday. Just got to tick off 1 or 2 sessions.

“Big session for me today. Really excited to get stuck in with the boys in a couple of days back here at home… Really hungry to get out there in a couple of nights time and play well.”

ABBOTT ON FLIP & JED

Abbott also spoke about the impact of Josh Philippe at the top of the order. He said: “I think his game has gone to another level this season. He’s really put in the hard work for many months now. He’s the first one in the nets, often the last to leave. It was no surprise to see him go out and score some runs the other night. It looked like he was in first gear.”

Abbott also praised all-rounder Jack Edwards. He said: “It’s no surprise we gave him a lot of opportunity to perform. I think for a while he was putting a lot of pressure on himself with his performances but he’s let go of that and is playing free-flowing cricket. I think that’s really shown especially with his bowling.

“He bowls a lot of tough overs for us. When you’ve got a guy that’s doing well, bowling tough overs and bats at 6 and being such a presence, he’s going to be a massive part of our season.”

INTERNATIONAL CALL-UPS

The Perth Scorchers will be without Jhye Richardson on Boxing Day and likely their Round 4 double, paving the way for Mahli Beardman’s return, after his recall to the Australia Test squad.

Richardson’s recall comes as Australia coach Andrew McDonald confirmed Pat Cummins won’t return this Ashes series, meaning there’s a spot available for Richardson.

Scorchers assistant coach Tim MacDonald told 91.3 Sport FM: “We’re not expecting to see Jhye now until after the Ashes is finished.”

Sixers spinner Todd Murphy has replaced Nathan Lyon in the squad for the fourth Test, with Lyon facing a long time on the sidelines, requiring hamstring surgery.

BLACK CAPS ALL CLEAR

In further international news, New Zealand announced their squad for their upcoming January ODI and T20I series against India, with BBL trio Finn Allen, Tim Seifert and Lockie Ferguson all left out in a boost for their BBL|15 availability.

The ODI games run from January 11-18 and T20I games from January 21-31, so selection would’ve meant a major impact on BBL|15 availability, however New Zealand has opted to let those players assigned T20 franchise contracts to focus on that and link up with the squad once their commitments are done.

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