England opener Alex Hales will play for Sydney Thunders in the Big Bash League, the franchise confirmed. Hales has signed one year deal and will be the second overseas player for the team alongside Chris Morris.
“I really can’t wait to return to the Big Bash,” Hales said. “It’s such a hugely respected tournament around the world. The standard of cricket is amazing and any chance you get to visit Australia and play over there is amazing, so I’m really looking forward to it.
“Sydney Thunder is the full package. Sydney is one of the best cities in the world, getting the chance to work with Shane Bond – who is a highly respected coach – and it’s a young club, so hopefully, I can be part of building a successful family there. As an opener, you want to be one of the leading run-scorers, so that’s definitely one of my aims.”
Hales had a great T20 Blast this year and scored over 400 runs in 12 matches at a healthy strike rate of 140.26. Bond, the coach, expressed his happiness having Hales in the team.
“He’s one of the best T20 batters in the world. To have someone of his quality available for the whole tournament for us is a great pick up,” he said. “I spent a little bit of time with him at the Mumbai Indians and came up against him when I coached New Zealand and he smacked us a number of times.
“He’s one of the most destructive batters, is an outstanding fielder and is also obviously a highly experienced player. He’s highly respected at Notts and does a great job with their young players. With players like Sangha, Gilkes, and Davies, to have someone who has been there and done that, Alex has played in leagues all around the world and is an outstanding batsman in this format. To have someone like him to learn off is perfect.”
