Hobart Hurricanes have locked in South African batsman David Miller's services for BBL09, with the 30-year-old's arrival confirmation that Jofra Archer won't be in purple this summer.
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A key player in England's Word Cup and Ashes campaigns, Archer's place on the Hurricanes' list was always in doubt due to a Test series against South Africa taking place while the Big Bash is on.
Miller, a veteran of 294 T20 games, will add firepower to a Hurricanes batting line-up that could potentially be missing Matthew Wade, Ben McDermott and D'Arcy Short due to their own international commitments this summer.
"It's very exciting to welcome a player of David's calibre to the Hurricanes," Cricket Tasmania chief executive Nick Cummins said on Wednesday.
"We've built a reputation as a destination club among internationals, and we are confident David's hard hitting batting will give our members and fans great entertainment, and possibly a few opportunities to catch a six.
"We expect to lose some batting experience throughout the season, so David will provide valuable runs in our drive to our third successive finals campaign."
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The 30-year-old, who is not part of South Africa's Test set-up, will be available to play all 14 home and away games before returning for South Africa's ODI series against England.
He has good memories of Hobart's Bellerive Oval after belting 139 off 108 balls in an ODI last year as he and Faf du Plessis guided South Africa to victory in a 252-run stand.
In ODIs, he averages 38.70 at a strike-rate of 100.13.
He joins Afghan spinner Qais Ahmad as the club's second overseas signing for BBL09.
The Hurricanes will begin their BBL09 campaign against Sydney Sixers at Traeger Park in Alice Springs on December 20.
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Alex Fair
Deputy Editor of The Advocate on the North-West Coast of Tasmania.
Deputy Editor of The Advocate on the North-West Coast of Tasmania.
