Continuing their huge string of off-season domestic signings for the Hobart Hurricanes BBL|15 squad, the club can confirm that towering quick Billy Stanlake has re-signed for two more seasons.
Before injuring his shoulder in a match against the Melbourne Renegades last season, he was a key part of the Hurricanes bowling line-up taking six wickets from his six games.
He thoroughly enjoyed his time with the group in BBL|14 and is pleased to continue his BBL career in purple.
“After such a successful season winning our first BBL title, I’m thrilled to be re-signing for another two years!
“We have an exciting group, who love playing together and I’m looking forward to helping push for a title defence and future success,” said Stanlake.
Joining the Hobart Hurricanes from the Melbourne Stars in BBL|12, injuries kept Stanlake from playing consistent T20 cricket over the past few seasons.
Bursting onto the scene as a 21-year-old quick with raw pace for the Strikers, he would take 34 wickets across five seasons in Adelaide, helping them to their first BBL title and was given his Australian T20 debut during this period.
While holding a central Australian contract, he took 27 wickets in 19 matches for the Australian T20 side between 2017 and 2019 before a string of injuries stopped him from representing the green and gold.
He also played in the Indian Premier League across two seasons for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad, with Stanlake’s speed and height a real factor on the Indian pitches.
In BBL|14, he also took his 50th wicket, moving his overall BBL wicket-taking tally to 53 wickets, and was also selected in the Australia ‘A’ squad for three 50-over and two 4-day matches in Darwin early next month.
He will join a strong Hurricanes pace bowling line-up that includes Nathan Ellis, Chris Jordan, Riley Meredith, and young quick Iain Carlisle who is also tracking well from a return from a back injury last summer.
Hobart Hurricanes Head Coach, Jeff Vaughan, discussed how important Stanlake was to the Hurricanes bowling line-up.
“Bill was one of the unsung heroes of our BBL campaign last summer and was bowling with real pace before he unfortunately injured his shoulder.
“We were really impressed by the way that he applied himself last season to be at his physical peak before the BBL, and we were pumped to see him bowling as quickly as he was.
“His selection in the Australia ‘A’ matches in the coming weeks is a great reward for his form last summer, and I’m confident he will be back at his best this season,” said Vaughan
Stanlake joins Rehan Ahmed (O/S), Iain Carlisle, Nikhil Chaudhary, Nathan Ellis, Rishad Hossain (O/S), Chris Jordan (O/S), Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Mitch Owen, Matt Wade, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster, and Mac Wright under contract ahead of BBL|15, with further signings and re-signings to be announced soon.
Details on Hobart Hurricanes memberships, tickets and the schedule will be communicated to Hurricanes fans very soon.