SYDNEY, Australia, CMC – West Indies Women’s captain, Stafanie Taylor, is set to miss Adelaide Strikers’ opening two games of the Women’s Big Bash League due to quarantine.
The 29-year-old all-rounder only arrived for the October 25 to November 29 franchise tournament last week Monday and is not scheduled to end her two-week isolation until October 26.
Strikers open their campaign on Sunday against Hobart Hurricanes at Hurstville Oval and face Sydney Sixers on Monday at North Sydney Oval.
Taylor’s unavailability could force the franchise to resort to the option of using a replacement player for the next two matches.
Under the new protocols from the tournament, 20 additional players have been included along with the eight teams currently in the Big Bash Village – a bio-secure bubble established in Sydney Olympic Park.
With franchises unable to call up players because of the tournament COVID-19 protocols, the group will serve as a pool from which teams can draw in case of injuries and other emergencies.
Four New Zealanders – Katie Perkins, Lauren Down, Rosemary Mair and Holly Huddleston – are among the 20 players but Strikers said no decision had been made on if to call up one as Taylor’s replacement.
“That is an option; we’ll talk about it after the warm-up games,” Bates said.
“We’ve got that up our sleeve, but with our local batters, we back them to do a job.
“We had Katie Perkins training with us this week so we’ll see how the squad looks, and when Staf is available [before making a decision].”
Taylor will be turning out for Strikers for a second straight season even though she was limited to only two appearances in 2019 due to injury and international duty.
Ranked in the top 10 of the ICC T20 batting rankings, the right-hander has gathered 1 074 runs in 60 Big Bash games, while taking 49 wickets with her steady off-spin.
“We are thrilled to be bringing Stafanie back who proved to be such an exciting player in a short period last year,” head coach Luke Williams said recently.
Taylor is one of two West Indies players competing in the Big Bash League with off-spinner all-rounder Hayley Matthews down to represent Hurricanes.