Melbourne Renegades’ recruit Josh Brown to play Victorian Premier Cricket next season

There is bad news for bowlers in Victorian Premier Cricket. Ace Melbourne Renegades recruit and BBL blaster Josh Brown is heading to town.

Melbourne Renegades recruit Josh Brown is bringing his blazing bat to Victorian Premier Cricket next season.

But just where the powerful right-hander will play is a question as big as his hitting.

Cricket Victoria has written to Premier clubs asking them to express their interest in recruiting Brown, who has linked with the Gades on a two-year deal after his spectacular performances for Brisbane Heat in last season’s Big Bash League.

They have until Sunday, April 28 to respond.

Head of Victorian Premier Cricket Darren Anderson said he was unsure how many games Brown would play.

“I have not been given any confirmation about whether he’s going to play for the full season or whether it’s the BBL season,’’ he said.

“We go through a process with anyone who’s coming from interstate of going out to the clubs, asking them if they have an interest in speaking with the player, and if they do we set up meetings. But it’s ultimately up to the player to decide.

“We do that with all the BBL players and any other internationals or interstaters who are wanting to come and don’t have a natural connection to a club.’’

Premier clubs have until next week to register their interest in Josh Brown.

He said the prospect of Brown appearing at Premier level was exciting for the competition.

“We’ve seen what he’s done in the BBL finals series … he can hit a long ball,’’ he said.

“He also pasted it when he came down with the Queensland squad to play against the San Francisco Unicorns, the Renegades and the Stars pre-Christmas last year. He hit some really big balls at the Junction Oval against the Renegades.

“No doubt some people will be eagerly heading along to see what he can do in our competition.’’

A number of BBL players appeared in Premier Cricket last season, including Melbourne Renegade Joe Clarke (Melbourne), Melbourne Star Usama Mir (Fitzroy-Doncaster) and Star Liam Dawson (Ringwood).

Melbourne Star Nick Larkin was another, lining up with Northcote.

“If the fixtures align, the Stars and Renegades open it up and encourage their players to go and play Premier Cricket to get that continuity in their games,’’ Anderson said.

Brown will be a five-point player when he lines up in Premier Cricket.

Anderson said few clubs were tight with the points cap and he expected “quite a few’’ would be keen to talk to the new Renegade.

In his 23 matches and two seasons with the Heat, Brown cracked 624 runs with a dazzling strike rate of 149.64.

He blitzed a league-best 12 sixes in his innings of 140 off 57 deliveries in the Heat’s semi-final.

“I’ve enjoyed my time with the Heat, they gave me my opportunity, for which I’ll always be grateful and have cherished memories including winning a BBL Championship last season,” Brown said after the Renegades confirmed his arrival.

“But I am extremely excited for a new challenge and hopefully achieve the same success with the Renegades.

“It’s a young group with a lot of talent and firepower, especially in that batting group. I can’t wait to partner with the likes of (Jake) Fraser-McGurk and (Will) Sutherland and see what we can do.”

Melbourne Renegades GM James Rosengarten said: “We are extremely excited to have Josh join our squad.

“We’ve identified a clear role for Josh in our batting order which will have a new look this year.

“Josh possesses a good balance of aggression and composure, which we all witnessed in the recent BBL finals series. We’ve been watching Josh for a while so his strong season and BBL finals series were no surprise.’’

Originally published as Melbourne Renegades’ recruit Josh Brown to play Victorian Premier Cricket next season