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Tim Paine says Australia’s 17-man squad will stay in Brisbane until at least the end of the fourth Test, waiting to see what BBL movements will be possible.
A 17-strong squad is currently in Brisbane for the fourth Test, which begins on Friday.
David Warner and Steve Smith headline the players keen for a break at the end of the series, having spent the better part of five months inside biosecurity bubbles of varying severity.
Captain Tim Paine, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon are some of the Test players who signed up for a BBL cameo at the end of the season.
Squad members Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Michael Neser, Mitchell Swepson and Sean Abbott will also be desperate to have a game after carrying so many drinks.
The squad is currently quarantining in Brisbane, as per Queensland’s rules on travellers from Sydney.
Those on BBL deals had been cleared to link up with their respective sides after the Gabba series finale.
But Brisbane’s recent lockdown triggered a fresh round of border restrictions, meaning travel from the city to Adelaide and Melbourne – both slated to host BBL games – is currently not viable.
Paine has revealed the entire squad will be staying put until the end of the fourth Test “and potentially beyond”.
“We’re waiting to find out if we can go home,” Paine said.
“Or we are going to the Big Bash, or we’re staying here in quarantine, or we’re going somewhere else.
“It’s nothing we can control.”
Defending champions Sydney Sixers, who already top the BBL table, will enhance their status as title favourites if they regain captain Moises Henriques, Mitch Starc, Nathan Lyon and Sean Abbott next week.
Paine admitted that in an ideal world Henriques and other players, having been in the national-team hub since the start of the series but failed to play a Test, would have played more Big Bash.
“Those guys who haven’t played cricket, but have been around here, have done a great job,” he said.
“Those guys have been awesome and are a huge part of our team.”
The availability of Australia’s best players during the BBL has been one of many points of clash between free-to-air broadcaster Seven and Cricket Australia, who are set to square off in court on March 15.
CA cleared a gap in the international schedule from the end of the fourth Test until the BBL final, while white-ball stars like Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell have been on deck throughout the Twenty20 competition.
© AAP
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