Birmingham Bears, the T20 team for Warwickshire county, announced on Monday that the side has signed Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell ahead of the T20 Blast tournament this year.
"Birmingham Bears have signed Australian Glenn Maxwell, one of international cricket's biggest hitters, in a clear statement of intent ahead of this year's T20 Blast," said a statement from Bears.
World Cup winner Maxwell - who has lit-up T20 tournaments around the world with his power-hitting and creative shot-making - has signed for the Bears' 2023 T20 Blast campaign.
He is the Club's second overseas signing following the capture of Pakistan pace bowler Hassan Ali in November.
Maxwell will join up with his Bears teammates at the end of his involvement in the Indian Premier League (IPL) where he is set to star for a third season with Royal Challengers Bangalore having been bought for more than 1.3 million pounds at auction.
Bears First Team Coach Mark Robinson said Maxwell's IPL price tag reflects his stature as one of the most feared batters on cricket's international stage.
He said: "It is an amazing signing - he is one of the fastest scorers in world cricket - and I am sure he will be a favourite with Bears fans. "
"I am also delighted for our fans. We have now got a really exciting Blast squad that I am sure will provide great entertainment and help us achieve our goal of again getting to Blast Finals Day here at Edgbaston," added the coach.
Maxwell has played 355 T20 innings and scored 8,451 runs with a 27.79 average and strike rate of 151.07. His best score is 154* and five centuries and 47 half-centuries have come off his bat. On the other hand, his international T20 record reads 2,159 runs in 90 innings - with a high score of 145 not out from 65 balls - with an average of almost 30 and a strike rate of 150.97. He has scored three tons and 10 fifties at the international level in the shorter format.
He's a legend of the Australian Big Bash League (BBL) having played 100 games for the Melbourne Stars, a milestone he marked in spectacular style in January 2022 by smashing 154 off just 64 balls to set a new BBL record.
And the 34-year-old also recorded the second-quickest World Cup century with a 51-ball hundred in 2015 against Sri Lanka at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
"I cannot wait to get stuck into a new challenge with the Bears," said Maxwell, who has also played seven tests for Australia.
"Edgbaston is a great place to play cricket with extremely passionate fans and I am looking forward to joining an exciting list of players," concluded the all-rounder.
( With inputs from ANI )
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