NEWS
Follow UsAfter losing one of their icons Adam Zampa, Melbourne Stars have made a move to sign the Western Australian left-arm pacer Joel Paris for the upcoming seasons. Paris has been a BBL regular, having picked up 23 wickets, and represented Perth Scorchers and Hobart Hurricanes earlier in the competition.
The 30-year-old, earlier in the season, earned himself a call-up to the Australian A side, after his impressive display for Western Australia at the Sheffield Shield level. During his stay with the Scorchers, the left-arm pacer was left on the reserves, with Jason Behrendroff being Scorchers’ first-choice option.
The Stars have also drafted two overseas pacers, Trent Boult and Luke Wood, for the season. But with Zampa switching allegiance to cross-city rivals, Renegades, there remains a leg-spinner slot that the Stars need to fill.
"We identified a need for more left armers who could swing the ball in our team so to secure someone of Joel's experience is fantastic for the squad," Stars general manager Blair Crouch told ESPNCricinfo.
"He has been part of a very successful system in Perth for a number of years and knows what success looks like and we hope he can emulate that during his time as part of the Stars."
On the other hand, Brisbane Heat have re-signed Marnus Labuschagne for another BBL season, given the provision with BBL’s rules regarding contracted players.
"We have seen the enormous impact that Marnus can have not only on a match, but more importantly on a season and on the entire squad, even if he's only available for a few games, so we treated his re-signing as a priority," Heat coach Wade Seccombe said.
"We don't know yet exactly how many games he'll be available for given his international commitments, but we know what he'll bring to the table both on and off the field whenever he puts the Heat jersey on."
Renegades, who earlier signed Zampa, have also retained the services of all-rounder Will Sutherland for two more years, tying him up at the club till the 2024-25 season.
