Brad Hodge withdraws from Bendigo Twenty20

Less than a week after the Melbourne Renegades picked Ballarat ahead of Bendigo for its Big Bash League warm-up matches comes Brad Hodge's withdrawal from the Bendigo District Cricket Association's Twenty20 competition.

The former Australian Test, one-day and Twenty20 international star had agreed to play a match for Sandhurst this summer.

But Hodge is facing up to 10 weeks on the sidelines after copping a knee injury in a collision with Rajasthan Royals team-mate Shane Watson in an Indian Premier League semi-final against Chennai recently.

The injury has cast doubt on Hodge taking his place for the Stars when the franchise hits-off its BBL03 campaign against the Renegades on December 20 and it's ruled him out of playing for Sandhurst.

"He's disappointed, he was looking forward to the opportunity of getting up here and having some fun," Sandhurst coach Craig Howard said.

"He did it for a couple of other mates last year and really enjoyed it, more so than playing in Melbourne, he enjoyed getting out of town a bit.

"We were just going to ask for a gold coin for entry and donate the money to one of his charities.

"Hopefully next year we can get him or someone similar because he's a quality person and a quality player."

Bendigo's Twenty20s start Sunday, October 27.

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