Otago Cricket today confirmed that Brett Lee and James Fuller are unavailable for the upcoming Champions League in India. Lee has indicated that he has business commitments that preclude him from joining the Volts for the tournament in September. Gloucestershire has decided not to release James Fuller, citing injuries within their squad and chance of promotion in the County Championship as the reason.
Blair Soper has been added to the wider squad.
The availability of Ryan ten Doeschate continues to sit in the balance. If Essex are in the hunt for a top two finish in the County Championship or qualify for the 40 over final they are unlikely to release him.
Otago Cricket CEO Ross Dykes said “clearly it is disappointing to have players of Brett and James’ skill and experience withdraw from the squad, but we still believe we have an extremely competitive side. The unavailability of Lee and Fuller creates an opportunity for local players. The ten Doeschate situation is out of our control, we just sit and monitor the fortunes of Essex with interest. There is good will from both ten Doeschate and Essex we just need to wait on results over the next three weeks”.
The final squad of 19, from which the Volts will select their travelling 15 is:
Nick Beard
Sam Blakely
Derek de Boorder
Michael Bracewell
Neil Broom
Ian Butler
Mark Craig
Ryan ten Doeschate
Jacob Duffy
Brendon McCullum
Nathan McCullum
James McMillan
James Neesham
Aaron Redmond
Iain Robertson
Hamish Rutherford
Blair Soper
Neil Wagner
Sam Wells
*Press release from Otago Cricket
