Last Updated on 4 days by Charbel Coorey

Cricket News: 6 England players to leave BBL 11 on January 7 | ECB requests that 6 England players leave the BBL earlier than planned

The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has asked six England players to leave Australia on January 7 to prepare for England’s T20I series in the West Indies starting on January 22.

Sam Billings (Sydney Thunder), Saqib Mahmood (Sydney Thunder), George Garton (Adelaide Strikers), James Vince (Sydney Sixers), Tymal Mills (Perth Scorchers) and Reece Topley (Melbourne Renegades) have been selected in England’s T20I squad for their tour of the Caribbean.

COVID-19 has rocked the BBL: England players required to isolate

The franchises would have planned for this given England’s international assignment takes place during the tournament, but the ECB requires these players to return to the UK sooner than planned to serve an isolation period.

COVID-19 has rocked the BBL. The Melbourne Stars, Sydney Thunder and Perth Scorchers have all been impacted, with players and staff testing positive. The Stars themselves have had 10 players test positive to the virus, resulting in the franchise fielding a very new-look team vs Perth Scorchers on January 2nd that required them to contact grade cricketers to fill in.

The BBL clubs reportedly met on Sunday to discuss how the England withdrawals will impact their respective franchises. It remains to be seen whether these franchises can get international replacements in time for the backend of the tournament.

Sam Billings in particular has been superb for the Thunder, while Saqib Mahmood has also made a strong impact. James Vince has been a regular for the Sixers, even leading them to the title last season. And, Tymal Mills has showcased his white-ball skills as the Scorchers sit top of the table.

Cricket Australia (CA) is determined to keep the tournament rolling on despite the outbreak. Australia is seeing record COVID infections, with New South Wales itself recording upwards of 20,000 cases a day in recent times.

This means the Stars-Renegades game schedule for January 3 will go ahead as planned as CA looks to be as flexible as possible to keep the tournament going in these challenging times. As long as CA deems that players and staff are safe, the tournament will go ahead. Its quality, however, depends on the club’s Sunday discussions which we could know more about in the coming days.