The Tasmanian top-order batter, who played the last of his four BBL games for the Melbourne Stars more than two years ago, has replaced leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson for Monday's challenger final on the Gold Coast.
The Heat will bat first against a Strikers side that upset the Perth Scorchers to reach the season's penultimate match.
Brisbane have opted against the extra spinner on a pitch that offered plenty for the quicks in last Friday's loss to the Sydney Sixers, who are waiting to face the winner in Wednesday's SCG final.
But the Strikers have backed the same side that spun through the Scorchers in Perth, Lloyd Pope and Cameron Boyce now tasked with repeating their feats in starkly different conditions to those they faced two days ago.
ADELAIDE STRIKERS: Matt Short (c), D'Arcy Short, Jake Weatherald, Thomas Kelly, Harry Nielsen, Ben Manneti, James Bazley, Henry Thornton, David Payne, Cameron Boyce, Lloyd Pope.
BRISBANE HEAT: Jimmy Peirson, Josh Brown, Nathan McSweeney (c), Matthew Renshaw, Max Bryant, Charlie Wakim, Paul Walter, Michael Neser, Xavier Bartlett, Spencer Johnson, Matt Kuhnemann.
12°C