Hamstring strain forces Jhye Richardson out of BBL for two-three weeks

However, coach Adam Voges is optimistic that Richardson would be back in time for the BBL finals if the Scorchers advance.

Richardson suffered a hamstring injury while bowling in Wednesday night's defeat against Sydney Thunder.

His mild strain was verified by scans on Thursday, but the Scorchers are likely to be cautious with him given his history of soft tissue injuries over the last two seasons.

"It's on the very minor end of hamstring strains, two to three weeks.We're certainly hopeful that we'll see him before the end of the tournament again. I think you need to [be cautious], certainly with someone of Jhye's calibre. But we've got a world-class medical staff here. And I'll trust them to put the work in with Jhye over the next two weeks. And hopefully, we'll see him back and we'll get him back on the park as soon as possible," said Voges as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

A summer that was cut short for Richardson already. He was carefully tended to by Western Australia before the BBL; he only participated in two of the season's opening six Sheffield Shield games while battling a number of discomforts, including a bruised heel.

Lance Morris' release from Australia's Test squad to rejoin the BBL has bolstered the Scorchers. Marcus Harris and Morris left Sydney on Friday to travel to the BBL to represent their respective teams. Prior to the Renegades' matchup with the Hobart Hurricanes on Saturday at Marvel Stadium, Harris has flown to Melbourne to reunite with the team. In case Harris is needed as a concussion replacement for Australia's Test side, Peter Handscomb has departed Renegades to join the team in Sydney.

A summer that was cut short for Richardson already and was carefully tended to by Western Australia before the BBL; he only participated in two of the season's opening six Sheffield Shield games while battling a number of discomforts, including a bruised heel.

Lance Morris' release from Australia's Test squad to rejoin the BBL has bolstered the Scorchers. Marcus Harris and Morris left Sydney on Friday to travel to the BBL to represent their respective teams. Prior to the Renegades' matchup with the Hobart Hurricanes on Saturday at Marvel Stadium, Harris has flown to Melbourne to reunite with the team.

In the event that Australia's Test team need a concussion replacement or a replacement fielder for the remainder of the Sydney Test, Peter Handscomb has left Renegades to join the Australia squad in Sydney as a replacement for Harris.

Morris has travelled to Perth and will have the opportunity to play for the Scorchers against the Brisbane Heat on Saturday at Perth Stadium.

"We'll see how he pulls up. He's done a heap of work, obviously, preparing for Test match cricket. I know he's had a white ball in his handover in Sydney in the last couple of days, starting to prepare to come back to us. So we'll see how he pulls up from his plane trip today. There's every opportunity for him tomorrow," said Voges. The Gloucestershire left-arm seamer David Payne has joined the team as Tymal Mills' international replacement after the latter was forced to withdraw from the competition owing to a family emergency.

"He [Payne] arrived just in the new year. He's settled in really well. He's had a couple of training sessions with us. And we'll have another hit out today. Quality left-arm seamer, who can swing the ball. And if he gets his opportunity tomorrow, I'm sure he'll do a really good job," mentioned Voges. (ANI)