Travis Birt to replace Luke Wright for Stags HRV Cup match in Nelson

Tasmanian and Australian Twenty20 international Travis Birt replaces Luke Wright in the Hell Wellington Firebirds team for Thursday’s round three HRV Cup Twenty match in Nelson against the Central Stags.

Luke Wright will miss this match due to a leg infection that saw him hospitalised on Monday.

Wright has been discharged from hospital and is hopeful of being available for the Hell Firebirds’ following match on Sunday 12 December at the Basin Reserve against the Northern Knights.

Birt and Victoria’s Mark Cleary are the Hell Firebirds’ two overseas players for this match against the Stags.

Hard hitting left handed middle order batsman Travis Birt is a current member of the Tasmanian Tigers State First-Class, One-Day and Twenty20 sides and toured New Zealand with the Australian Twenty20 squad last February. He played in the second of two internationals in Christchurch. Birt is also a former Australia A and Australia U19 player and has played for Derbyshire in English County cricket.

Birt, who celebrates his 29th birthday on the day of the match against the Stags, has been a consistent run-scorer in One-Day and Twenty20 cricket over the past two domestic Australian seasons. Last summer he scored 445 runs at an average of 63.57 in Australia’s State One-Day competition and 385 at 48.12 the previous year. He holds the Tasmanian domestic One-Day record with an innings of 145 against South Australia.

Hell Wellington Firebirds Head Coach Anthony Stuart said: “Travis Birt has been on our shortlist of overseas players throughout and with Luke Wright unavailable to play the Stags this is an opportunity for him to show his explosive skills.”

“Birt’s a big hitting left-hander who regularly clears the fence and is a proven match winner. He has been a recent member of Australia’s Twenty20 international squad and is highly thought of in Australia.”

Birt becomes the third Australian player to play for the Hell Firebirds in the HRV Cup to date.

Cricket Wellington Chief Executive Gavin Larsen said: “It’s always been our policy to fill both our international player spots with quality overseas cricketers. While an injury to Luke Wright is both untimely and disappointing, we’ve had contingency plans in place in the event that an overseas player was injured.”

Birt arrives today and will travel with the team to Nelson this evening.

Marc Calkin and Joe Austin-Smellie drop out of the travelling squad for this match in other changes to the squad of 14 players that was selected for the opening two matches against the Volts and Wizards last weekend.

The Hell Wellington Firebirds squad to play the Central Stags at Saxton Oval in Nelson on Thursday, from 5.00pm, is:

Jeetan Patel (captain)
Travis Birt
Harry Boam
Dewayne Bowden
Mark Cleary
Mark Houghton
Ronald Karaitiana
Chris Nevin
Neal Parlane
Michael Pollard
Stewart Rhodes
Luke Woodcock

ENDS

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