Matt Short takes on Adelaide Strikers captaincy

Matthew Short, last season's player of the tournament in the BBL, has been named Adelaide Strikers' new captain.

Short takes over permanently from Travis Head having stood in for him last season. He scored 458 runs and claimed 11 wickets in the 2022-23 edition of the tournament and has since made his T20I and ODIs debut for Australia.

He will be in the running for a spot in next year's T20 World Cup squad although there is a squeeze for top-order batting slots along with Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith.

At the end of the recent T20I series in India Short was given a run lower down the order to see him in a finishing role

"Matt was a standout choice to take on the captaincy at the Adelaide Strikers and we are thrilled to announce him as our sixth captain," Strikers head coach Jason Gillespie said. "When he stepped up last year we were very impressed with his leadership and we are looking forward to seeing him grow further into the role."

Short added: "I really enjoyed the little taste of captaincy I got last season and I'm excited to put my full attention to it in BBL13."

Strikers are unlikely to see much of Head or Alex Carey for this season's tournament given the Test schedule although there is a chance they could make an appearance between the Pakistan and West Indies series in mid-January.

Strikers finished seventh last season with just five wins from 14 matches. They will open this campaign against Brisbane Heat in Adelaide on Saturday.