Big ben, Clock tower in London, England

Ahead of the upcoming Big Bash League ((BBL), Sydney Thunder has announced that England's top-order batsman Alex Hales would be representing them in the tournament.The 31-year-old's debut season for Thunder in 2019-20 is remembered as a smash hit. He compiled a total of 576 runs to finish as the league's second-highest runscorer.He registered 59 boundaries and cleared 23 sixes to record a formidable strike rate of 146.93. Hales, who was a member of the triumphant Notts Outlaws outfit that seized England's T20 Vitality Blast crown by beating Surrey earlier this week, said he had good reason to be excited about returning to Thunder on a new one-year deal."I'm returning to Sydney, and I'm absolutely buzzing for it - I can't wait. Playing for Sydney Thunder means a hell of a lot to me. To get the chance to come back is exciting because we're at the start of something... I think the next two-to-three years is going to very special for Sydney Thunder as a franchise. I really believe that, and to know I'm coming back to that means a lot," Hales said in an official Sydney Thunder release."A lot of people had written us off as no chance at the start of the season, but we performed extremely well and won some fantastic games. So, when I look back on last season, I think it was a very successful one for us - as a very young and talented squad - to make the finals," he added.Hales, who represented England in each of cricket's three formats, said he was excited to be resuming his partnership with Usman Khawaja, a teammate who he praised for being a "calming influence" in even the most adrenaline-charged moments of a T20 match."Usman and I are different players - and I think that's important for an opening pair. It means bowlers need to bowl at different lengths and different areas, and [we] score at a different tempo. On top of all that, I think the right hand/left-hand combination worked really well. Usman is also very calm guy too, a very calm influence, and that's very important in T20," said Hales.Thunder coach Shane Bond described the re-signing of Hales as a coup for the club because he proved last season that he was more than a star cricketer."There's a whole range of reasons to be excited about Alex extending his contract - and they're exactly why we signed him in the first place. He is a great player who is available for the entire tournament. He played brilliantly for us last year, but he was brilliant on-and-off the field. He was hugely popular with the players and support staff - and that's how Alex is viewed wherever he plays," said Bond.Sydney Thunder is set to open its tenth BBL campaign on 5 December 2020 against the Melbourne Stars at the MCG, before playing its first game at Sydney Showground Stadium on 8 December 2020.( With inputs from ANI )Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

Big BenFOLLOW

Big ben, Latest News

England's County Cricket Club Somerset on Thursday announced that Ollie Sale has signed a two-year contract extension with the club. ...

England defender Nathaniel Clyne has signed a short-term deal with Crystal Palace, bringing him back to the club after eight years. ...

England batsman Liam Livingstone will return to the Perth Scorchers for the Big Bash League (BBL), where he was the leading scorer for the side with 425 runs in the last edition. ...

Kolkata, Oct 13 In 2009, she had promised to transform Kolkata into London and she did mention that ... ...

England and Rajasthan Royals' all-rounder Ben Stokes has said that Yuzvendra Chahal should have been the Man of the Match in the game between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). ...

London, Oct 11 Patients of Asian ethnicity have an increased risk of dying in hospital from Covid-19, while those ... ...

London, Oct 11 UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock has been accused of flouting the country's 10 p.m. curfew by ... ...

Ahead of the upcoming Big Bash League ((BBL), Sydney Thunder has announced that England's top-order batsman Alex Hales would be representing them in the tournament. ...