Leg Buys: English bad boy switches BBL clubs, Windies wonder also eyes Big Bash and WBBL moves
The Melbourne Stars have snared a gun English all-rounder who makes the switch from the Sydney Sixers after several successful seasons. DANIEL CHERNY reports.
Sydney Sixers stalwart Tom Curran has defected to the Melbourne Stars, signing with the Victorian club on a two-year deal.
As flagged last month by the Leg Buys column, the Stars had been chasing the seaming all-rounder to be their pre-draft overseas player signing.
Curran, 29, who has represented England across all three formats, has joined on a two-year deal, committing to play each of the next two seasons in a boost to the Big Bash League.
He was in the headlines for the wrong reasons last season, suspended after intimidating an umpire in an ugly pre-match incident ahead of a clash with the Hobart Hurricanes.
Curran will reunited with Glenn Maxwell, having been teammates together at the Indian Premier League’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru earlier this year.
“I’m really looking to getting out to Australia in a few months and playing at the MCG which will be a great honour to call my home ground,” Curran said.
“You want to come in as an overseas player and have an impact and help win games, it’ll be a joy not having to bowl to Maxwell and (Marcus) Stoinis!
“When spending two months away from home especially over the Christmas period, if there is anywhere I want to do it other than at home with the family, I’d definitely say Australia is right up there.”
Stars general manager Blair Crouch said: “Tom has proven himself as a world class performer for a number of years now and we are ecstatic that he has chosen the Stars.
“We’ve seen him prove himself in Australian conditions during his time with the Sixers and we can’t wait to see what he can do in front of our home fans at the MCG.”
The Stars are yet to decide on a new captain after Maxwell pulled the pin in January following a fourth straight BBL season out of the finals for the one-time glamour club of the competition.
WINDIES WONDER EYES BBL
Shamar Joseph became a hero Down Under last summer and he is looking at coming back again next season.
It’s understood the Guyanese pace sensation has interest in playing in the Big Bash League next summer having grown fond of Australia during his herculean debut Test series for the West Indies.
However the complicating factor is the fact the Windies are scheduled to host Bangladesh in a series stretching deep into December, overlapping with the start of the BBL.
Joseph was picked up by Justin Langer’s Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League and is a part of the Windies’ T20 World Cup squad, albeit he has been squeezed out of the XI thus far.
BBL teams can pre-sign one overseas player ahead of the draft under new rules implemented this year to encourage in-demand internationals to prioritise the BBL over the ILT20 and SA20 competitions.
Sydney Thunder last week unveiled English wicketkeeper-batter Sam Billings on a three-year contract. England all-rounder Chris Jordan is expected to be retained by the Hobart Hurricanes while the Melbourne Stars have eyed their compatriot Tom Curran, a mainstay of the Sydney Sixers.
The involvement of Afghan players including Rashid Khan remains unclear amid frustration from Afghanistan over Australia’s repeated cancellation of bilateral series against that opponent on human rights grounds.
CAN’T FALT HER
Former Melbourne Stars captain Nicole Faltum is no guarantee to be at the club next season despite a two-year contract extension announced last September.
Faltum, 24, captained the Women’s Big Bash League side in 2022 when Meg Lanning took an extended break from cricket for personal reasons.
However the wicketkeeper-batter had been jostling for a spot in the side with fellow ‘keeper and Victorian teammate Sophie Reid.
It’s understood Faltum has attracted interest from local rivals the Melbourne Renegades, who are likely to need a new wicketkeeper for next season following the news of Josie Dooley’s serious illness.
Faltum has also played for Australia A.
The Stars are also bracing for the exit of young quick Milly Illingworth, who had been in the sights of the Sydney Thunder but also has interest from the Renegades.
The Thunder is however set to land all-rounder Taneale Peschel from the Perth Scorchers, where she was a member of the side’s maiden WBBL title-winning side, taking the key wicket of Adelaide Strikers jet Tahlia McGrath.
The Hurricanes earlier this week announced the signing of spinner Lauren Smith from the Thunder.
CIRCUIT ROLLS ON
While the acquisitions of Ricky Ponting, Pat Cummins, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell and Travis Head has ensured the US-based Major League Cricket has hogged the headlines, it isn’t the only league in an associate nation over the next few months.
The Canadian Global T20 league – where David Warner and Steve Smith played while suspended in 2018 – is earmarked to return late next month.
Australian players including Warner, Beau Webster, Matthew Wade and Kane Richardson have shown interest in being part of this year’s competition. After some confusion over when the league’s draft will be held, it is now expected to proceed later in the week.
However it’s believed the Scottish Super10 league, pencilled in for the back half of August, has not received ICC approval meaning it will likely now be the domain of retired and associate players rather than active international stars. Wade’s signature with the Inverness Tigers was announced in May but his involvement is in doubt,
Warner has also been unveiled as a star signing of August’s Max60 league in the Cayman Islands.
Last summer’s BBL finals hero and Melbourne Renegades recruit Josh Brown is also exploring opportunities abroad.
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