Photo Credit: Sydney Sixers
Three-time BBL winner Moises Henriques has backed his side to continue to set high standards on and off the field, despite a series of injury blows to the ladder leaders over the past week.
The latest sees English international Tom Curran forced out of the remainder of the tournament after suffering from a troublesome hotspot in his back, and follows the neck stress fractures that have ended off spinner Ben Manenti’s BBL|11 campaign.
Curran will return to the UK immediately to begin his rehabilitation, while Manenti is expected to continuing managing his injury between Hobart, where he plays Premier Cricket, and Sydney.
Veteran spinner Stephen O’Keefe, who has taken seven BBL wickets already this summer, is also out of action in the short term having strained a calf in the Sixers’ stunning victory over the Melbourne Stars at the MCG on Wednesday.
O’Keefe is unlikely to play in the Sixers’ next match – a home fixture at the SCG against the Adelaide Strikers on Tuesday – and his condition will be continually monitored over the Christmas period with a return to play to be assessed in due course.
“We pride ourselves on being a club and a team that embraces challenges but to lose players of the calibre of Tom and Ben, and to have SOK on the sidelines, would be a challenge for any team and those guys aren’t simply replaced,” Henriques said.
“On and off the field, all three of those guys play a massive role for us and their presence around the team and skills on the field will be missed by everybody in the group.
“But for us, we always look to have 18-match ready players in our squad and we see it as an opportunity for others within our group.
“There are guys like Lloyd Pope and Mickey Edwards who really deserve an opportunity, but due to the strength of our list haven’t been able to get as many chances as they deserve, so it will be a great little period for those guys to have a run of games.
“We also saw Ben Dwarshuis return from injury this week, Jackson Bird isn’t too far away and Sean Abbott is back after the birth of his daughter, so there is no need to panic.”
Sixers management will explore injury replacement player options in coming days.
The Sixers’ next match is at home at the SCG on Tuesday when they take on the Adelaide Strikers in their final pre-Christmas fixture.
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