A double boost for the reigning champions who have also added Jackson Bird to their BBL|15 squad
Injured Hobart Hurricanes star Mitch Owen has declared he is on track to play in their season opener against Sydney Thunder as the reigning champions today added veteran Jackson Bird to their KFC BBL|15 roster in a further boost to their pace stocks.
Owen was subbed out of Tasmania’s most recent Sheffield Shield game against NSW when he injured his hamstring on day one.
The 24-year-old allrounder left the field immediately after completing his fourth over and took no further part in the match, replaced by batter Charlie Wakim under Cricket Australia’s new injury substitute rule.
Owen is unavailable for selection until Saturday due to a 12-day standdown period under the injury substitution rule, which was extended ahead of round six of the Sheffield Shield, beginning today in Melbourne.
While he’ll miss Tasmania’s clash with South Australia beginning Friday, the player of last season’s BBL final said he was in no danger of missing their first game of the new campaign – a rematch of the decider against the Thunder on December 16 in Hobart.
“It’s all on track for Big Bash; unfortunately, I’ll miss this next Shield game but all on track for that first game (of BBL|15),” Owen said at the launch of a Hurricanes exhibit at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery on Wednesday.
“I felt like I got it at a good time, (I noticed) it early and proceeded on the side of caution.”
Owen said the BBL|14 champions weren’t concerned with being the hunted this season after the right-hander record-equalling 39-ball century powered Hobart to the club’s maiden Big Bash title last January.
“That’s something that all the other teams think, that we’ve got to hunt them,” he said.
“For us, it’s just more of the same of what we did last year and sticking to what we know.
“We’ve got a great, experienced group who have quite a lot of cricket, not only around the world, but together over the last few seasons.
“So we enjoy the challenge of everyone else thinking they’re hunting us.”
Meanwhile Bird, a BBL champion with Sydney Sixers, joins his third Big Bash club after spending the past six seasons with the SCG-based outfit.
The soon-to-be 39-year-old seamer, who has 85 BBL wickets across a 14-year career at the Sixers and Melbourne Stars, has signed a one-year deal with the Hurricanes for BBL|15.
Bird has also returned to Tasmania in the state competitions this summer after spending the past two years with NSW, collecting 13 wickets in four Shield games for the third-placed Tigers.
The right-armer adds further experience to a ‘Canes pace battery already boasting captain Nathan Ellis, tearaway Riley Meredith, Englishman Chris Jordan and towering quicks Billy Stanlake and Marcus Bean.
“It’s a bit weird, it’s BBL|15 and I’ve been playing since BBL|01 and it’ll be my first year playing for the Hurricanes,” Bird said.
“It’s really exciting coming into a team that had the success of winning the title, and it’s obviously going to be a new environment with some familiar faces that I haven’t played too much T20 cricket with so that’s something I am really looking forward to.”
Having lived in Hobart for most of his illustrious career, Bird’s eldest son Max is a passionate Hurricanes fan and will finally get to see his dad wearing purple in BBL|15.
