Sheffield Shield: West Australian paceman Matt Kelly to miss matches with fresh soft tissue setback

Injured paceman Matt Kelly has injured his calf and is only expected to return late in the Sheffield Shield season.

Kelly suffered the injury two weeks ago during a Big Bash League campaign where he didn’t manage a match on Perth Scorchers’ path to a sixth title.

But the paceman has been an integral part of Western Australia’s domestic teams.

The 31-year-old was left out of the Scorchers’ early games after a heavy load to start the summer, then battled to break back in to the side with the emergence of Mahli Beardman and the return of Jhye Richardson.

The calf injury continues a run of soft tissue setbacks — including quad and pectoral issues — for Kelly, who is out-of-contract with Perth and available to other clubs during the eight-day player movement window which opens on Wednesday.

WA return to domestic action next Thursday in a clash with Tasmania at the WACA Ground. They then face the Tigers in a one-day match on February 10.

Kelly has played four of WA’s six shield matches in the first part of the season as well as two one-day matches.

He is the fourth-leading wicket-taker in the Sheffield after taking five scalps against New South Wales and six against Tasmania in the early rounds of the first-class season.

“He’s up and about and he’s doing all he can to return, so we’re hopeful that he’ll be bowling in the back-end of the shield season,” WA cricket boss Kade Harvey told The West Australian.

“His first four games were outstanding, he felt like a new recruit in some ways when he came back in because he’s had his challenges over the last 18 months to two years.

“We’re hopeful he’ll play a role in the back-end of the shield, but it just won’t be in the early stages.”

Wicketkeeper Joel Curtis is on track to return for the clash with Tasmania after he was ruled out for the end of the BBL with a fracture in his hand.

Curtis actually debuted for the Scorchers with the injury before doctors got to the bottom of the issue.

Mitch Marsh retired from first-class cricket after the final game of 2025, while Josh Inglis, Cooper Connolly and Cam Green will be away on international duty.

Mahli Beardman also travelled to Lahore on Tuesday for the Twenty20 series with Pakistan but will not stay on for the World Cup, putting him in the frame for a first-class debut or a return to the one-day side.