Photo Credit: Sydney Sixers
The Sydney Sixers have received a massive boost ahead of tonight’s KFC BBL|11 Final against the Perth Scorchers at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne with news the tournament’s hottest young player has re-committed to the club for three years.
Hayden Kerr has had a breakout season for the Sixers, who tonight will chase a record third consecutive BBL crown, finishing as the season’s second highest wicket taker and being named in the Team of the Tournament before his career defining innings with the bat on Wednesday night in the Challenger.
Opening the batting for the first time this season for a Sixers side decimated by illness and injury, Kerr scored 98 not out, hitting the winning runs off the final Adelaide Strikers ball of the match to clinch a win for the ages.
The 25-year-old has been with the men in magenta for two years without nailing down a permanent spot in the starting 11, but his form this year made him the league’s hottest off contract property.
Last summer Kerr battled injury and didn’t play a single match for the Sixers, despite being part of their squad all summer, but the left-handed bowler and right-handed batter went away and worked on his game in leagues in Darwin, South East Queensland and Sydney before knocking the selection door down for the NSW Blues’ Sheffield Shield and One Day Cup teams.
Cricket NSW Head of Male Cricket, Michael Klinger, said Kerr’s form and his future promise made his re-signing a priority for the Sixers.
“Kerry has been a really strong performer in grade cricket in recent years but this is the year he has converted that sort of form into stand out performances at this level,” Klinger said.
“He has shown himself to be a genuine all-rounder that can bowl in any part of the innings and bat anywhere in the order.
“Those sorts of players are very hard to come by and the investment the Sixers have made in him, and most importantly the effort that Hayden has made in leaving no stone unturned to reach his potential has all been justified.
“His work ethic is a fantastic example to all young cricketers in NSW.”
Name of Author: Sydney Sixers
The Sydney Sixers are an Australian professional Twenty20 cricket team competing in the Big Bash League (BBL). Based at the Sydney Cricket Ground, the Sixers, along with the Sydney Thunder, succeeded the New South Wales Blues from the now-defunct KFC Twenty20 Big Bash.
