BBL 2021-22: English pacer George Garton signs for Adelaide Strikers

English left-arm seamer George Garton will join Adelaide Strikers for the Big Bash League 2021-22 season. This marks his upward rise in franchise cricket after he was previously brought on as a replacement by Royal Challengers Bangalore for the second leg of the Indian Premier League 2021. 

That call came after he had a terrific performance in the inaugural season of The Hundred, which was held in the English summer. He played for the Southern Brave and helped them to win the competition. During the tournament, he picked up 10 wickets in nine matches at an impressive strike rate of 15.5. 

He is top drawer, we identified that: Jason Gillespie

The 24-year-old also said that he was excited to be a part of the Adelaide Strikers. “I’m really excited to be a part of the Adelaide Strikers, a club with such a successful history in the Big Bash,” Garton was quoted saying by Cricbuzz. Apart from being a wicket-taking bowler, he is a handy batter down the order as well. 

His overall numbers in T20 cricket are impressive. He has picked 46 wickets in 39 matches with a strike rate of 14.40. In 15 innings with the bat, he has made 228 runs with a strike rate of 132. With his stint at the Strikers in Australia, he will re-unite with his former head coach at Sussex, Jason Gillespie. The former Aussie pacer also spoke about the new signing and how he can potentially fill the void left by Michael Neser. 

“George has been on England’s radar for a while now. He bowls left-arm fast. He can swing the new ball, which is great. He is an aggressive left-hand batter who can clear the rope and he would be one of the best fielders in the world at the moment. He is top drawer. We identified that in the middle-order, having a batting and bowling option is something that will be extremely useful to us. We are comfortable that we have a lot of great top-order options, but this is an area that we can strengthen within our squad,” Gillespie was quoted by Cricbuzz.

Strikers will start their campaign against Melbourne Renegades on December 7 at the Marvel Stadium (Docklands) in Melbourne.