Ian Bell, the 118-Test veteran for England, will play for Perth Scorchers in the upcoming Big Bash League (BBL).
The 34-year-old was officially confirmed on Tuesday (August 30) as the Scorchers’ second international signing alongside compatriot David Willey. Bell has played 118 Tests, scored 7727 runs and made 22 centuries in an international career spanning more than a decade. In this season’s NatWest T20 Blast, the Birmingham Bears’ batsman scored 489 runs at an average of 40.75 and a strike rate of 130.74.
The Warwickshire captain said he was excited about returning to familiar terrain having played in Perth’s grade cricket competition during the 2003-04 season. “I’m delighted to be coming back to play in Perth for the Scorchers in this year’s Big Bash,” Bell said in a media release. “I love the city having played there earlier in my career and to work with Justin Langer (Scorchers’ coach) will be superb.
“The Scorchers have a fantastic record in the competition having made every finals series and winning two titles so I’m looking forward to hopefully helping them do that again this year,” he added.
Langer said he was delighted to have secured Bell’s signature. “It’s exciting to be able to add a player of Ian’s top-level experience and quality to our squad,” he said. “With 22 Test centuries and a One-Day International average close to 40, he’ll bolster our batting options.
“He’s played at the international level for more than a decade so brings experience and leadership having captained his county side Warwickshire and the Birmingham Bears. We’re delighted to have him on board.”
Bell’s signing completes the Perth-based franchise’s 18-man roster more than three months out from the 2016-17 BBL season. “It’s great to have the squad completed at this point in time,” Langer said. “We’re happy with our squad and are delighted to have added some experience and genuine international quality with both bat and ball in Ian Bell and Mitchell Johnson. We’ve got full faith that our young players will continue to develop to take us to the next level too.”
Bell is expected to arrive in Perth in November ahead of the Scorchers’ opening fixture against Adelaide Strikers on December 23.
Scorchers BBL|06 squad: Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Ian Bell, Hilton Cartwright, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mitchell Johnson, Michael Klinger, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, James Muirhead, Joel Paris, Jhye Richardson, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Adam Voges, Sam Whiteman, David Willey.
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