Australia international Mitchell Starc has pulled out of NSW Blues’ Sheffield Shield match against Victoria due to the passing away of his father Paul, who lost his battle with cancer on Tuesday.
Starc’s wife and Australian women’s cricketer Alyssa Healy has also withdrawn from the NSW Breakers’ WNCL match against Tasmania on Thursday.
While confirming the news in an official release, NSW Cricket said that Starc would miss the upcoming match at Bankstown Oval.
Off-spinner Nathan Lyon has expressed his condolence to the bereaved Starc family.
“Obviously it’s very sad, sad news.
“All our thoughts and prayers are going out to Mitch and his family.
“It’s obviously never great losing someone like that. It’s a tough time, but he knows he’s got all our love and all our support from not just me but everyone here at NSW cricket and the cricket community as well.
“We’ll throw our arm around him and get around him.”
Meanwhile, Jason Sangha, who represented Australia in the 2018 U-19 Cricket World Cup, has been included in NSW Blues’ squad as a replacement for Starc.
NSW Blues’ squad, Round 5 vs Victoria, Bankstown Oval, February 25-28
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