Stoinis returns to Shield, Wade misses for SA20 league

Marcus Stoinis has been included in Western Australia's squad for their Marsh Sheffield Shield clash with South Australia on Friday for what would be his first red-ball game in almost three years.

The Australia allrounder last played for his state in first-class cricket in March 2020 when WA hosted Queensland at the WACA, making single figure scores in both of his innings.

A packed international schedule over the past three seasons has meant the 33-year-old hasn’t pulled on the creams since, with Stoinis an ideal replacement for the ladder-leaders who are without Test squad trio Cameron Green, Ashton Agar and Lance Morris.

Such is the prevalence of the white ball in Stonis' game of the late, the Western Australian has been in the UAE for the past two weeks playing for the Sharjah Warriors in the ILT20 league.

While he only registered a combined 49 runs in his four matches, the right-hander will be buoyed by the confidence of stringing multiple games together in a row after his missed the middle part of BBL|12 with a hamstring injury.

Shaun Marsh also returns to the WA squad for the first time since last season's Shield final, after missing the first half of their 2022-23 campaign with injury.

The veteran also battled soft tissue niggles throughout an interrupted KFC BBL|12, however was part of the Renegades' Knockout final loss to the Brisbane Heat and will captain his state at Adelaide Oval on Friday in brother Mitch Marsh's absence.

They take on the Redbacks who are searching for rare back-to-back wins in the four-day competition, after they toppled Tasmania in the final round before Christmas.

Meanwhile, Tassie will be looking to get their season back on track when they face New South Wales at the SCG on Saturday, but will have to do it without Matthew Wade.

Where Stoinis has been plying his T20 trade in the UAE following the Melbourne Stars missing out on the BBL finals, Wade has been doing the same in South Africa.

His side Joburg Super Kings in the SA20 league play in a semi final on Friday morning AEDT, meaning the wicketkeeper wasn’t available for selection against the Blues.

Ben McDermott, who was also in South Africa playing for Durban's Super Giants will line up at the SCG however after his side didn’t qualify for finals, with Tigers Jordan Silk skipper explaining the situation on Thursday.

"Wadey's team (is in finals) so he isn't available and with Wadey he's got a unique opportunity to explore a bit of white ball cricket whilst he's still in the T20 Australian side," he said.

"(At) Cricket Tasmania we're open arms to letting him explore that and play as much of that, we obviously want to see him play for Australia for as long as possible, so if that's his best preparation to be in that in that team, then we're fully supportive of that decision.

"I think he had a chat with Jeff (Vaughn)…and said that this opportunity had come up and ever since he's come back to the state, he's always had a strong ambition to  play for us and wind Shield titles us.

"But obviously, his circumstances is so different now to what they were when he first came back and his main priority at the moment is to try and remain in that Australian T20. side.

"I think as an organisation it'd be remiss of us not to allow him the best opportunity to prepare for selection in that team going forward."

With the SA20 final this weekend and the Tigers' next Shield match not until February 21 against WA, it is expected Wade will return to the Tasmania line up for that crucial clash in Hobart, although Silk couldn’t confirm this.

The third-placed Tigers will be looking to capitalise on their match-up with the lowly Blues this week before a tough run home, including clashes two clashes with WA and then second-placed Queensland to close the season.