The Sydney Sixers have hit out at Cricket Australia's decision to stop Steve Smith representing the franchise in the BBL11 finals, saying it makes no sense.
The Sixers are right in the mix to win BBL11 and were hoping that Smith would be able to play in Saturday night's qualifying final against the Perth Scorchers.
Smith not registered
Smith applied to play for the Sixers after Australia's white-ball series against New Zealand was cancelled but Cricket Australia have blocked the attempt.
The reason for the rejection is that Smith was not registered with the Sixers for BBL11 and was not included in the local replacement player pool (LRP) that was introduced by CA.
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The LRP was introduced with all franchises understanding that any fill-in players must be picked from that pool. But Smith thought he would be playing for Australia so was not included.
And CA are not willing to bend the rules so he can play.
A statement from CA said: "This request was denied on the basis that a further adjustment to the league regulations was unanimously rejected by other state associations/clubs in the interest of fairness, noting that other players returning to the BBL from international duty have been retained on club lists throughout the competition."
Sixers unhappy
However the Sixers are not happy with veteran star Dan Christian saying the decision makes no sense.
"Now we're going to have access due to this New Zealand and Australia series being postponed and yet we're going to ban them playing our domestic competition," Christian said. "To have someone like Steve available and then to knock that back, it makes no sense to me whatsoever."
