Weatherald opts for red-ball focus rather than BBL finals return
There is some rain forecast for Hobart on Tuesday evening and if there's no match possible the hosts would progress
AAP
20-Jan-2026 • 6 hrs ago
Nathan Ellis and Rishad Hossain are Hobart Hurricanes' two leading wicket-takers • Getty Images
Jake Weatherald won't be on deck for Hobart Hurricanes in their do-or-die BBL Knockout final against Melbourne Stars, with the Test opener opting for a red-ball focus.
Both sides missed a chance to lock up top spot on the ladder in their final regular-season games and will instead meet in the three-against-four clash at Ninja Stadium on Wednesday night.
Defending champions Hurricanes botched an easy run chase against Brisbane Heat that would have secured first, before Stars lost to Perth Scorchers on Saturday.
Several Test stars, including the Hurricanes' Beau Webster, have made themselves available for the BBL since the Ashes finished.
Hurricanes coach Jeff Vaughan confirmed Weatherald, who joined from Adelaide Strikers in the off-season, wouldn't add his name to the list even though Australia's next Test isn't until August.
"Jake doesn't feel ready to play this format of the game and wants to focus on red-ball cricket at the back-end of the summer," Vaughan told reporters. "It's something we want to support Jake on. He's had a huge Ashes year. To play a full summer of Test cricket is pretty arduous.
"He wants to be best prepared for [Sheffield] Shield cricket ... and ensure he is the No.1 opening batsman in Australia."
Stars are the only club yet to win a title and captain Marcus Stoinis said confidence levels remained high despite their last-start loss.
"Not going to lie, would have loved to win that," he said. "[But] it's a great position to be in, in the last game of the season to have that ability to finish top of the ladder. You just have to do it a different way now."
Stoinis backed team-mate Glenn Maxwell to fire, despite the 37-year-old's meagre return of 67 runs at an average of 13.40 from 10 games to date this season.
"These things happen to everyone, where you go through a rough patch," he said. "He's one person that comes out on top nearly every time. Hopefully he's saving them for a big finals campaign."
Vaughan said three or four players were in the mix to replace English import Rehan Ahmed, who has left the squad for the tour of Sri Lanka.
He said Hurricanes had debriefed since a horror collapse against Heat, saying complacency could have crept in with the victory target in sight.
Showers forecast for Hobart on Wednesday night could impact the outcome - a no-result would see Hurricanes progress as the higher-ranked team.