Photo Credit: Brisbane Heat
A pair of prodigal sons and a promising fast bowling duo are among the reinforcements who will bolster the Brisbane Heat for the start of the KFC Big Bash League.
Former Queensland players Cameron Gannon and Nathan McSweeney, now plying their trade in Western Australia and South Australia respectively, have agreed to terms as replacement players for BBL|11.
Rising Queensland pace bowler Will Prestwidge and WA left-armer Liam Guthrie have also signed on as injury replacements, with Prestwidge taking the spot left vacant by left-arm paceman Matt Willans who is still recovering from a shoulder reconstruction after suffering an injury on the eve of last season’s BBL tournament.
Guthrie will replace fellow young gun Connor Sully who has been forced out of the tournament due to a back stress fracture that came to light within the last fortnight, cruelling his hopes of adding a BBL debut to his first class and one-day debuts for Queensland this season.
Additionally, rising Gold Coast batsman Hugo Burdon comes into the squad, less than 12 months after being invited to train with the squad at Metricon Stadium after catching the eye of then Heat coach Darren Lehmann.
Burdon, who turned 20 on Monday, is the leading runs-scorer in the Sci-Fleet Motors First Grade competition, registering 631 runs at 70.11 in all formats so far this summer.
An athletic fielder, he also bowls leg-spin.
The group will boost the Heat line-up while regular squad members Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Swepson and Mark Steketee and new recruits Michael Neser and Tom Abell are on duty with Australia, Australia ‘A’ and the English Lions in the build-up to the First Vodafone Ashes Test.
It will be the third stint with the Heat for the Perth-based Gannon, who will cover for Neser who is in the Australian Ashes squad for the opening two Vodafone Tests of the season.
McSweeney played in BBL|09 for the Melbourne Renegades as a replacement player and joins the Heat to cover for Labuschagne while he is on international duties during the summer.
Prestwidge, 19, becomes the third member of his family to hold a Heat contract, following in the path of older brother Jack (2018-2019) and sister Georgia, a member of the WBBL Heat squad that finished third in this season’s tournament.
A right-arm fast bowler, he was recently included in the Bulls Marsh One Day Cup squad.
Guthrie caught the eye of Bulls and Heat coaching staff in the past 12 months and with Willans ruled out, the former Australian Under-19 quick was snapped up as a like-for-like replacement.
Guthrie has been a replacement player for the Perth Scorchers for the past two seasons but is yet to debut in the BBL.
He was an Australian Under-19 teammate of Test aspirant Jhye Richardson and current Heat batsman Sam Heazlett in 2015.
Rights-free imagery of the replacement players in their Heat playing kit are available at:
2021-22 Brisbane Heat Squad
59. Jimmy Peirson (c)
28. Tom Abell (Int)
19. Xavier Bartlett
7. James Bazley
17. Max Bryant
26. Tom Cooper
16. Ben Duckett (Int)
2. Liam Guthrie #
5. Sam Heazlett
30. Matt Kuhnemann
33. Marnus Labuschagne (replaced by 1. Nathan McSweeney)
50. Chris Lynn
20. Michael Neser (replaced by 18. Cameron Gannon)
8. Will Prestwidge ^
6. Mark Steketee
4. Mitchell Swepson (replaced by 3. Hugo Burdon)
88. Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Int)
24. Jack Wildermuth
# injury replacement for Connor Sully
^ injury replacement for Matt Willans
