CRICKET: Warwick paceman Mark Steketee is one of 14 players already selected for the Brisbane Heat squad this season.

Steketee has been one of the best bowlers for the Heat in recent seasons and has been in the list of leading wicket takers in the KFC Big Bash League.

The Warwick player batted as high as No.8 for the Heat last season.

He will be joined in the squad this season by Bulls and Australian opening batsman Matthew Renshaw.

The 22-year-old Renshaw made his BBL debut last year and credited his inaugural stint with the Heat for invigorating his playing career, which saw him embark on a dramatic 2018 run-scoring spree.

Before a finger injury ended an English county stint with Somerset, the tall left-hander had scored 1139 first class runs in six months, as well as earning a Test recall to the national side and helping Queensland win the 2017-18 Sheffield Shield title.

Renshaw played one game for the Heat, scoring 22 from 19 balls against the Melbourne Renegades at the Gabba, but noted the benefits to his career came from immersing himself in the T20 experience.

"I got to train alongside players like Brendon McCullum and Chris Lynn and see how they went about preparing themselves, and the type of skills they emphasised,'' he said.

"It was a different training environment for me and an enjoyable change in terms of the batting skills required, which I had the chance to try out in Premier Cricket with my club Toombul in that window.”

The Heat will now move to sign a second international player for the coming Australian season.

Heat contracted players for BBL|08: Max Bryant, Joe Burns, Ben Cutting, Brendan Doggett, Sam Heazlett, Marnus Labuschagne, Chris Lynn, Brendon McCullum (int), James Pattinson, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Alex Ross, Mark Steketee, Mitch Swepson.