avid Warner signed a two-year deal with Sydney Thunder to end his nine-year hiatus in the Big Bash League. He is expected to be available for the franchise following the conclusion of the Sydney Test against South Africa, for five of Thunder’s regular league games. The Test side will then depart for India for a four-Test tour.
The 35-year-old, who last played the BBL in December 2013, had to choose between participation in the new UAE T20 tournament – ILT20, which would clash with the BBL in January. However, Warner credited his daughters for his decision to stay put in Australia and return to his former club. “My ‘girls’ have told me that they’d love to watch me play at home and in the BBL,” Warner was quoted as saying on cricket.com.au. “It will be great for us to be a part of the BBL as a family, and it is something that I am really looking forward to sharing with them.
“I care deeply about the game, and I am conscious that the conditions that I enjoy as a professional cricketer have largely come from other senior players who have come before me. That is how the game is structured and I understand that my contribution to the future of the BBL will hopefully benefit the next generation of players long after I am retired.”
Prior to Warner’s return to BBL 12, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne had penned contracts with Adelaide Strikers and Brisbane Heat respectively. Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc will, however, skip the competition in order to manage their workload and fitness, given the packed international schedule.
CREDIT: Cricbuzz
