Zak Crawley has signed up to play for Hobart Hurricanes in this winter's Big Bash League (BBL) as an overseas replacement player for Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan.
It will be the England opener's first overseas T20 franchise gig, with the 24-year-old boasting a strong domestic record. In 47 T20s, Crawley has struck 1,284 runs at an average of 29.86 and a strike rate of 145.08 and his naturally expansive game suits the format perfectly.
He earned plaudits from the Hurricanes' head of strategy Ricky Ponting during last winter's Ashes series after scoring an impressive 77 off 100 balls in the fourth Test in Sydney.
"He showed the mettle, he showed the fight, he showed the intent," Ponting said at the time. "He was happy to try and put a bit of pressure back on [Pat] Cummins and [Mitchell] Starc.
"If they overpitched, he whacked it down on the ground and if they were a fraction short, he was good enough to pull them through midwicket. I liked what I saw and, more importantly, I liked the attitude.
"He did it against some really good bowlers today and looked every bit of a top Test match player. He knows if he sticks to his game that he's got a game that can survive against some of the best fast bowlers in the world."
Crawley is well-suited to batting on Australian pitches and opened alongside Hurricanes star Ben McDermott for London Spirit during The Hundred earlier this year, where he also worked with the Hurricanes' assistant coach Darren Berry.
"I'm really excited to take part in the Big Bash for the first time," Crawley said. "From afar, the Hurricanes seem to be awash with talent both in terms of the list they have built for on-field success, but also the quality list of support stuff they have on it. I'm looking forward to taking part in what I hope will be a very successful summer."
Elsewhere, Liam Livingstone has pulled out of his BBL contract with the Melbourne Renegades in order to manage his workload, while Laurie Evans' deal with the Perth Scorchers has been terminated after the Surrey batter tested positive for "trace amounts of a banned substance".
