Benny Howell among three replacements confirmed by Melbourne Renegades

The Gloucestershire allrounder signs up for the first two matches of the campaign as Mohammad Nabi completed his 14-day quarantine period

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Melbourne Renegades have confirmed the signing of Benny Howell as a replacement for Mohammad Nabi for the first two matches of the competition.

The Afghanistan man will miss the games against Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers on December 12 and 13 as he completes his 14 days in self-isolation.

Howell, whose only previous overseas T20 league appearances have come in the Bangladesh Premier League, is rewarded for years of consistency in the format.

He was part of the Gloucestershire side which reached Finals Day in last season's Vitality Blast. In 94 outings for the Bristol-based county in the competition he has taken 116 wickets and scored 1,322 runs.

"I like to call myself a quick spinner.

"I like to change the angles + the different seam positions + use my knuckles + split fingers to bowl the ball to deceive the batter."

A quick spinner? Reckon @bennytweets_ is going to be a lot of fun to watch during #BBL10 pic.twitter.com/SYCrmac6qd

— Melbourne Renegades (@RenegadesBBL) December 7, 2020

Coach Michael Klinger, who played alongside Howell at Gloucestershire, said: "Benny’s got a great T20 record with Gloucestershire and I got to know him well in my time over there.

"He’s got all the tricks and is someone who can finish off an innings really well with the bat and he has a lot of variations with the ball."

Renegades have also brought in two local replacement players in the form of Brody Couch and Peter Hatzoglou.

Marcus Harris and Will Sutherland are in action for Australia A against India in Sydney in a three-day warm-up match before the Test series between December 11-13 and will not be available until the clash with Hobart Hurricanes on December 19.

"Brody and Peter will benefit from being around and training with the group and if an opportunity arises, they’ll be ready to shine," Klinger added.

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