After colleague Aaron Finch announced that he was hanging up his boots from the BBL, he announced his own retirement.

“I have loved playing for the Renegades, I’ve met some great people over the last five years and the friendships I’ve made will last a lifetime. This playing group is special. They’ve been amazing to me, amazing team-mates and even better friends,” said Marsh.

“To the Renegades’ coaches and staff and everyone behind the scenes – thank you for backing me in from the start and over my final years. It’s made my job a little easier out in the middle,” he added.

Marsh scored the most runs in the first season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). In the same year, he played his first One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) matches during the West Indies tour.

Marsh scored a total of 2265 runs in 38 Tests, 2773 runs in 73 ODIs, and 255 runs in 15 T20Is for Australia. He notched up 13 centuries and 25 half-centuries in these formats.

Matthew Short, the standout player from the last BBL season, is now the new captain of the Adelaide Strikers. He takes over from Travis Head after leading the team temporarily in the previous season. Short’s impressive performance included scoring 458 runs and taking 11 wickets in the 2022-23 tournament. Following his success, he also made his debut in T20Is and ODIs for Australia.

Short is now a contender for a spot in the upcoming T20 World Cup squad. However, the competition for top-order batting positions is tough, with players like Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, and Steven Smith in the mix. In the recent T20I series in India, Short was given the opportunity to bat lower down the order, showcasing his adaptability 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.”

The Strikers might not have Travis Head or Alex Carey playing much in this season’s tournament due to the Test schedule. However, there’s a possibility they could join the team between the Pakistan and West Indies series in mid-January.

Last season, the Strikers ended up in seventh place with only five wins out of 14 matches. They kick off this season against Brisbane Heat in Adelaide on Saturday.

Last season, Adam Voges’ Scorchers won the final against Heat by five wickets with four balls remaining, securing their fifth crown in front of a record crowd of 53,886 in Perth. This season, the team has a strong lineup, including English batsmen Zak Crawley, Laurie Evans, and Stephen Eskinazi, along with a formidable bowling attack featuring Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson, and Ashton Agar. Voges has also added left-arm quick Liam Haskett to the squad, who impressed with 13 wickets at 29.15 in four Sheffield Shield appearances, including dismissing Test stars Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne.

“To finish the way we did (last season), in front of a crowd that loud and passionate, was incredible,” said Eskinazi, who plays English county cricket for Middlesex and with Welsh Fire in the Hundred.

“We’ve got an awesome squad, a great supporter base and we’re hungry, so I’m excited to be on board and keen to get stuck in.”

The tournament begins with Heat facing Melbourne Stars at the Gabba on Thursday. There will be a break from December 14-18 for Australia’s opening Test against Pakistan in Perth. The finals series, consisting of four games, will culminate in the final on January 24, a Wednesday, which is only the second time it will be played mid-week. Heat’s wicketkeeper-batter Jimmy Peirson is feeling confident as they aim for their first title since 2012-13.

“We’ve been in a final, we’ve played in front of 50,000 people, we know what to expect, and we did it with a group that wasn’t at its strongest either. So we know we can do it,” he said.

They get a boost for their first match from Khawaja and Labuschagne, who will then leave for Test duty. Their three overseas players are England’s Sam Billings, Paul Walter, and New Zealander Colin Munro.

The Stars have a significant advantage with big-hitting allrounder Glenn Maxwell returning after missing the entire last season due to a fractured leg. Sydney Sixers, three-time champions, will face Hobart Hurricanes in the opening match, with Steve Smith available before he departs for the Pakistan series.

However, some top players have pulled out of the event, including Afghan leg-spinner Rashid Khan, the world’s number one ranked T20 bowler, who is a key player for the Adelaide Strikers. Khan has a back injury requiring minor surgery. England batter Harry Brook withdrew from the Stars due to workload concerns, and South Africa’s Quinton de Kock is expected to miss the Renegades’ first two games due to commitments in the Abu Dhabi T10 league.

The best Twenty20 bowler in the world was set to play for the Adelaide Strikers for the seventh year in the upcoming tournament starting next month.

“Rashid is a beloved member of the Strikers and a fan favourite who has been with us for seven years, so he will be extremely missed this summer,” club general manager Tim Nielson said in a statement.

“Rashid loves Adelaide and the Strikers, and we know how much he loves playing in the BBL, and we support him as he has treatment for this injury to ensure his long-term involvement in the game.”

Khan has been with the Strikers every season since he started at 19 in 2017. He took 98 wickets in 69 matches, with his best being 6-17. Unfortunately, he won’t be playing this time, which adds to the BBL’s challenges after England’s powerful batter Harry Brook decided not to play for the Melbourne Stars due to workload concerns last week.