Photo Credit: Brisbane Heat
Teenage Redlands off-spinner Jack Sinfield will have a story to tell about his start to the school holidays that few can top after the Brisbane Heat signed him as a replacement player for the start of the KFC Big Bash League.
Sinfield, 17, recently finished Year 11 at The Southport School and the Gold Coast-based player was hoping to earn an invitation to train with the Heat during their run of games at the Gabba and Metricon Stadium.
Instead, he has been signed as a replacement for International allrounder Lewis Gregory, who is currently part of England’s tour of South Africa that has been unsettled by COVID-19.
Gregory is scheduled to travel to Australia next week with his mandatory two-week quarantine period set to end on Christmas Day.
Sinfield, a Queensland Under-17 and Under-19 representative in recent seasons, will join the Heat squad this week as they prepare for their opening game against the Melbourne Stars in Canberra on Friday night.
He will be in familiar company at the Heat alongside fellow Redlands first grade players Jimmy Peirson, Sam Heazlett, James Bazley and Simon Milenko, and Australian batsman Marnus Labuschagne when he joins the squad later in the tournament.
If he makes his BBL debut, he will be comfortably the youngest Queensland player to have played T20 and the first school student to play for the Heat.
Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman was 17 when he made his debut for the Heat three seasons ago.
Heat coach Darren Lehmann said he was excited to usher Sinfield into his BBL experience.
“It’s a great thrill for him and I’m sure he’ll enjoy working alongside the likes of Mujeeb and Mitch Swepson and demonstrating his skills,’’ he said.
“I know the Queensland boys have had a high opinion of him for a while so it’s exciting to be a part of his development.”
Lehmann said the club was keeping an open mind as to other replacement options should they come available after English batsman Tom Banton withdrew from his contract for BBL|10 last week after battling the effects of spending lengthy amounts of time in ‘bubbles’ for bio-security purposes.
Sinfield joins Milenko, Jack Wood and Lachy Pfeffer as Heat replacement players named in the past week.
The Heat are in a ‘soft’ isolation period before they travel to Canberra on Wednesday.
The Heat have announced the following squad for BBL|10:
Tom Banton (Eng)
James Bazley (NEW)
Xavier Bartlett (NEW)
Max Bryant
Joe Burns
Tom Cooper (NEW)
Lewis Gregory (NEW, Eng)
Sam Heazlett
Matthew Kuhnemann
Marnus Labuschagne
Ben Laughlin
Dan Lawrence (NEW, Eng)
Chris Lynn
Morne Morkel (NEW)
Jimmy Peirson
Mark Steketee
Mitch Swepson
Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan)
Matt Willans (NEW)
Jack Wildermuth (NEW)
Simon Milenko (Replacement)
Jack Wood (Replacement)
Lachlan Pfeffer (Replacement)
Jack Sinfield (Replacement)
