With BBL|15 just days away, the Hobart Hurricanes are delighted to confirm that former Australian pace bowler Jackson Bird will be joining the ‘Cane Train for the upcoming season.
After a decorated career with the Sydney Sixers and Melbourne Stars, Bird has played in every season of the Big Bash since BBL|01 and has signed a one-year deal in Hobart.
He is looking forward to joining the Hurricanes squad in their title defence.
“It’s a bit weird, it’s BBL|15 and I’ve been playing since BBL|01 and it’ll be my first year playing for the Hurricanes!
“It’s really exciting coming into a team that had the success of winning the title, and it’s obviously going to be a new environment with some familiar faces that I haven’t played too much T20 cricket with so that’s something I am really looking forward to,” said Bird.
Having played 87 games across 14 seasons of the BBL and taken 85 wickets, Bird will bring valuable experience to an already stacked bowling group featuring Nathan Ellis, Riley Meredith, Chris Jordan, Billy Stanlake, Iain Carlisle, and Marcus Bean.
Throughout his Big Bash career, Bird has consistently found ways to perform for whichever team he represented.
Last season, he played three games for the Sydney Sixers, claiming seven wickets including 4-16 against the Hurricanes at Ninja Stadium in January.
Despite an illustrious domestic career with the Tasmanian Tigers, Bird has never previously signed with the Hurricanes, and fans will be excited to see him charging in from the Members End.
Cricket Tasmania’s High Performance General Manager, Salliann Beams, is proud to see Bird potentially make his Hurricanes debut this summer.
“When the opportunity arose to sign someone of Jackson’s quality to our Hurricanes list, we couldn’t say no.
“An experienced and supremely talented pace bowler, as well as a terrific mentor to our younger bowlers, he will provide great depth to our already strong bowling unit.
“We’re also delighted that Jackson’s eldest son, Max who is a passionate Hurricanes fan, will now get to see his dad wearing Hurricanes kit in BBL|15!”
Jackson Bird joins Rehan Ahmed (O/S), Marcus Bean, Iain Carlisle, Nikhil Chaudhary, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Rishad Hossain (O/S), Chris Jordan (O/S), Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Mitch Owen, Billy Stanlake, Matt Wade, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster, and Mac Wright under contract ahead of BBL|15, with one further signing to be announced in the next week.
Hurricanes memberships are on sale now, and the Hobart Hurricanes WBBL team currently has a home final locked in with tickets to go on sale in the coming days.
The Hurricanes’ BBL|15 season will get underway in just under two weeks with a huge Grand Final rematch against the Sydney Thunder on Tuesday, 16 December.