Australian pacer to miss County games to be back with the 'A' side in India

Australian speedster Billy Stanlake has recently been withdrawm from his scheduled County stint. The young pace bowler was expected to play for Yorkshire in the upcoming season of cricket. He has had a brilliant run in the shortest format of the game, including his maiden stint in the IPL for the Sunrisers Hyderabad this season. Considering his run of form, the Yorkshire Vikings were excited to have him on board.

However, the Australian administrators have new plans in place for Billy Stanlake. The recent reports in cricket.com.au suggest that the pacer is likely to tour India with the Australia A side later this season. The A sides are set to play two four day matches and few limited overs fixtures on the tour.

This tour will be a key to determine the immediate future of the Australian cricket that has been rocked by the sandpaper gate. The newly appointed head coach, Justin Langer, remarked that the A tour will provide a chance for the players to take the spots in the Test side that are ‘up for grabs’.

“There’s an Australia A tour to India where there’s a couple of four-day games. I imagine we might leave our selection for Pakistan (in) the UAE quite late, use that build-up and use that match practice. I’d suggest it might be a pretty strong Australia A team going to India,” Justin Langer quoted.

Yorkshire’s reaction

Meanwhile, club Yorkshire have expressed their disappointment at missing out on the services of Billy Stanlake. They, however, believe that they will not be the only side affected as a lot of other Australian cricketers have signed up County deals this year.

“Cricket Australia got in touch on Friday and have decided on a different strategy for Billy Stanlake. Now the new Australia coach is in place, they want him to play some different cricket to T20 during the period he was due to be with us. Consequently, they’ve pulled him out of our deal, which is obviously very disappointing for us. We’re not the only county, it would appear, who has been affected by this,” Yorkshire director of cricket Martyn Moxon remarked.

‘Wish to play all formats’

Meanwhile, Billy Stanlake, has remarked that he wishes to play for the Australian team in all the three formats of the game. He cited that the red ball cricket remains to be his top priority and he is keen on making the most out of the opportunities that come his way. For now, Stanlake’s immediate assignment will be the limited overs series in England in June.

“I want to play all three forms of the game. I still feel like red-ball is probably my best format, so I’m itching to get back out there. Hopefully this year is the year I can get a few games in. I don’t want to put a ceiling on (how fast I can get), and I don’t want to just be happy with where I am now – I’ve still got a few years for my body to mature and strengthen,” Billy Stanlake quoted.

“So I don’t see why I can’t get faster. That’s the challenge. I know I’ve got a big year of hopefully playing a lot of games, and getting another year older is going to play a factor in that,” he added.

For the latest cricket news, follow CricTracker.