THE Hobart Hurricanes have finally run out of patience with international signing Owais Shah, dropping the English batsman for its vital clash against the unbeaten Melbourne Stars at the MCG tonight.
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The 35-year-old has managed just 52 runs in five innings, with his fielding also letting him down.
"You want your overseas players to be playing the game, but for us Owais hasn't been in the nick that we want him in," Hurricanes coach Damien Wright said yesterday.
"That's something we haven't quite ticked off (our batting), as we've been in great positions to win games, but we haven't quite got there."
But fellow Englishman and playing assistant coach Dimitri Mascarenhas will make his Hurricanes debut after recovering from a broken jaw.
"He's a massive inclusion for us," Wright said.
"Dimi's experience come tomorrow night is going to be crucial for us, he's someone with the ball that will be really clever up front, and with the batting, his late-order hitting is going to be vital."
The Hurricanes, coming off another close loss, this time by seven runs to the Sydney Sixers, need to win both their remaining matches against the Stars and the Brisbane Heat to ensure a semi-final spot.
Wright said early wickets would be vital against the ladder-leaders, and said his side would be working on how they closed the innings with both bat and ball.
HOBART: Tim Paine (c), Ben Dunk (vc), Aiden Blizzard, Travis Birt, Doug Bollinger, Cameron Boyce, Evan Gulbis, Ben Hilfenhaus, Ben Laughlin, Shoaib Malik, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Joe Mennie, Jon Wells.
