England batsman James Vince will return to the Sydney Sixers for the upcoming eleventh edition of the Big Bash League (BBL), the franchise confirmed on Tuesday.
Vince, who amassed 537 runs in Sixers’ victorious campaign in the previous season, will eye to help his side win a hat-trick of BBL titles.
In the last season, 30-year-old Vince had smashed an unbeaten 98 in the first qualifier against Perth Scorchers before hitting a brilliant 95 against the same opposition in the season’s final.
“I don’t play for the personal accolades or awards, I play to be part of a winning team. What the Sixers have built on and off the field over the last few years is something really special and something I am proud to be part of,” Vince said in a statement.
“They are just a great bunch of lads and it’s everyone – players, coaches, support staff, the supporters. Shippy (Head Coach Greg Shipperd) creates an environment that we can all thrive in and we are all motivated to do our job for the team and our members and fans. To experience that final last season at the SCG, in what was our first trip back there all year, was something I’ll never forget,” he added.
Last week, the Sixers had acquired West Indies all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite for one more season.
Commenting on it, Brathwaite had said: “Obviously winning and the team’s success last year made it attractive to want to come back.”
“As you get older you definitely want to be somewhere you can hopefully be challenging for trophies but at the Sixers there is a deeper camaraderie and sense of family atmosphere,” he added.
Notably, Brathwaite had played a crucial role with the ball in Sixers’ title-winning campaign in the previous season as he had scalped 16 wickets from as many games.
However, he had dissapointed with the bat having managed just 55 runs in the tournament last time.
“As a team we went through a tumultuous season last year on the road without getting back to Sydney until the final and we built a very strong bond. The BBL is one of the biggest T20 tournaments in the world and hopefully that bond can help us to success again, this time in front of our fans at the SCG all season,” he expressed.
“That BBL final at the SCG last season was so special,” Brathwaite remembered.
“We played away from home all year and performed well enough to earn a home final. It was the only game all year with our own fans, played at our home, not someone else’s home ground or a neutral venue. There was an amazing build-up to the game but even more amazing was our execution and the execution of the fans being our 12th man and cheering us all the way. It made it even more special and exceeded expectations really of what it could be like,” he added.
After featuring in The Hundred, the 33-year-old will now turn up for Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) before returning to Sydney by the end of the ongoing year.
Notably, the 11th edition of the BBL will get underway against the Melbourne Stars at the historic Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on December 5.