English player Alex Hales becomes the first international player who signed a BBL deal amid the pandemic.
Many English players are expected to join the Big Bash League. Next to Tom Banton (Brisbane Heat) and Tom Curran (Sydney Sixers), Alex Hales becomes the third English player to have confirmed his part in the BBL as he re-signed a one-year contract with Sydney Thunder. It also made him first English player to have signed with the league during the pandemic.
Talking about his new contract, Hales said, ‘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 be very special for Sydney Thunder as a franchise. I really believe that, and to know I'm coming back to that means a lot’.
‘A lot of people had written us off as no chance at the start of 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.
Talking about Hales’ new contract, Sydney Thunder coach Shane Bond says, ‘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’.
Hales has been re-signed by the team after a successful season last year. In fact, he had already scored a total of 576 runs from his 17 games with the team at a strike rate of more than 146. Being the second-highest run-getter last season, he is once again expected to partner with Usman Khawaja as they had worked well the last time. To know more about the Sydney Thunder and the BBL, visit Betwala.
READ MORE: What is the Big Bash League?
