Hampshire has roped in Aussie batsman D’Arcy Short for this year's T20 vitality blast beginning on June 9. The 30-year-old, who has played eight one-day internationals and 23 Twenty20s for his country, will be available for the entire tournament. A hard-hitting left-hander and effective left-arm wrist spinner, Short is a T20 specialist. "I am so excited to join a club with as much history as Hampshire Hawks! I can't wait to get to The Ageas Bowl and hopefully we can have a strong season and win our first title since 2012," Short said. The dashing batsman has had a stint in the T20 Blast before, having featured for Durham, in a very successful spell, in 2019. He went on to become the fourth highest run-scorer in the tournament, totalling 483 runs at 43.90 in 12 innings.
Giles White, Director of Cricket, Hampshire, was visibly thrilled with the new acquisition and believes that Short's profile will add spark to the team's 2021 T20 Blast campaign. "We are delighted to secure the signing of D'Arcy for this summer's Vitality Blast competition. He is a high-class performer who has consistently shown his ability to score a high volume of runs at the top of the order, both for Australia and in a number of the world's best T20 competitions. "Alongside his skill with the bat, he also gives us another spin bowling option with the ball so we're excited about what he brings to the side and are looking forward to having him with us," he said. Short has scored 3,991 runs at an average of 35.31 in 123 innings and 48 wickets at 30 apiece across both international and domestic fixtures. In January 2018, he was bought by the Rajasthan Royals for ₹4 crores in the 2018 IPL auction.
