Photo Credit: Brisbane Heat
The Brisbane Heat will welcome leading English allrounder Lewis Gregory to the club for the first time this summer after securing his signature for the KFC Big Bash League.
Gregory, 28, will be the club’s third international signing following the recent decision by Cricket Australia to allow an additional overseas player to be recruited by each club for BBL|10.
The right-handed batsman and right-arm fast-medium pace bowler captains Somerset in the Vitality Blast T20 competition in England, where Heat batsman Tom Banton is a teammate.
It will be Gregory’s first stint in the BBL while he has previously played in the Bangladesh Premier League and Pakistan Super League.
In the past 12 months he has made his English T20 International debut, with his most recent International outing coming in the northern summer series against Pakistan in the UK.
He was also named in the English squad for their 2019 Test against Ireland.
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Brisbane Heat coach Darren Lehmann said Gregory was an ideal addition to the squad.
“He was quite sought after so we’re very pleased he is coming to us,’’ he said.
“I know ‘Bants’ (Tom Banton) rates him very highly as a leader, a player and as a person, and I only heard good things about him from the UK when I was involved with the preparations for The Hundred competition where he was lined up to skipper the Trent Rockets team.”
“He has built a very respectable reputation as a finisher with the bat for Somerset in the Vitality Blast T20 competition, and he is skillful with the ball as well as having good pace.”
“It’s great adding another experienced performer into the group. He’s performed quite well in the overseas T20 leagues he has played in and had a good taste of Australian conditions last season as captain of the English Lions team that was out here on tour.”
“I am sure he is looking at the BBL as an opportunity to show the English selectors that he is one to keep on their radar ahead of the Ashes next year.”
Gregory said he was delighted to have the opportunity to experience the BBL for the first time.
“We certainly kept a close eye on Tom’s performances for the Heat last season and so I’m rapt to have the chance to experience a world-class tournament like the BBL at first hand,’’ he said.
“I’ve enjoyed the challenge of adapting to conditions when I played in the BPL and PSL and got some good insights into Australian conditions during the Lions tour so I’m certainly excited to be heading to the Heat,’’ Gregory said.
Lehmann said they expected Gregory to be available for the entire tournament and hoped to have him arrive in Brisbane next month to quarantine and then begin preparations for BBL|10.
He joins Banton and Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman as the Heat’s overseas recruits for BBL|10.
The Heat have announced the following players so far for BBL|10:
Tom Banton (Eng)
Max Bryant
Joe Burns
Tom Cooper (NEW)
Lewis Gregory (NEW, Eng)
Matthew Kuhnemann
Marnus Labuschagne
Ben Laughlin
Chris Lynn
Mitch Swepson
Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan)
Jack Wildermuth (NEW)
Name of Author: Brisbane Heat
The Brisbane Heat are an Australian professional cricket team competing in the Big Bash League (BBL), representing both men’s and women’s cricket. Based in Brisbane, Queensland, the Heat succeeded the Queensland Bulls, who played in the former KFC Twenty20 Big Bash. The team wears a teal uniform and plays at the Brisbane Cricket Ground, known as The Gabba.
