Chris Jordan will return to Hobart with full availability for the next two Big Bash seasons after signing a two-year deal
Fresh from a World Cup hat-trick in his childhood hometown of Bridgetown, Barbados to help propel England into the semi-finals, Chris Jordan has been announced as the latest overseas star to commit to the Big Bash for multiple seasons.
Jordan will return to Hobart Hurricanes for the second straight campaign in KFC BBL|14 after signing a two-year deal under the league’s new multi-year contracting mechanism for overseas players.
Hobart Hurricanes BBL|14 squad (so far): Nikhil Chaudhary, Tim David, Paddy Dooley, Nathan Ellis, Peter Hatzoglou, Caleb Jewell, Chris Jordan (direct overseas signing), Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Mitch Owen, Matthew Wade, Charlie Wakim, Mac Wright
He joins fellow Englishmen Sam Billings (Sydney Thunder) and Tom Curran (Melbourne Stars) as internationals to commit to the league for multiple seasons.
Jordan, who has seven wickets at 13.85 in the ongoing men’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean, is one of the BBL’s most experienced overseas players with 44 appearances across five clubs, representing Adelaide Strikers, Thunder, Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers before being drafted by the Hurricanes last year.
His 45 Big Bash wickets ranks him in the top six for overseas bowlers in the competition’s history, adding nine to his tally in his first campaign with the Hurricanes while also slamming the season’s quickest half-century from just 17 balls.
The 35-year-old – the club’s platinum pick in last year’s draft – is also his country’s second most prolific bowler in the T20 format behind Adil Rashid (119 wickets) with 105 scalps in his 94 caps for England.
The right-armer added four in five balls in their most recent match, helping England sink the United States in their Super Eight clash and advance to the semi-finals where they’ll face India on Thursday (12.30am Friday AEST).
Like Billings and Curran (before suffering a knee injury), Jordan was one of the overseas stars that exited the Big Bash early last summer due to his commitments with Gulf Giants in the UAE’s ILT20 tournament.
But the Hurricanes confirmed he’ll have full availability, including finals, for BBL|14 and BBL|15 as part of his two-year deal. Luring foreign players for an entire season was a major factor for league officials when introducing the new pre-signing mechanism to offset the loss of overseas players to rival T20 franchise tournaments.
Salliann Beams, Hurricanes list manager and high performance general manger, said Jordan was their top priority for a multi-year overseas contract, with each club permitted to sign one men’s and women’s international prior to the draft.
“He provided our squad with experience, both with bat, ball, and in the field, and showed our squad what professionalism in world T20 cricket looks like,” Beams said.
“He also provided a good balance to our bowling unit, and when paired with Nathan Ellis, we have two of the best death and Powerplay bowlers in T20 cricket.
“We also saw what ‘CJ’ (Jordan) can do at his destructive best with the bat and know that he can play a role for us in the lower order when required, I am excited to see what he can do for our franchise over the coming seasons.”
Jordan, who was left out of two of England’s Super Eight World Cup matches, attributed the communication from the team’s leadership as a reason for being able to have an impact despite being in and out of the team.
“I try to control the things that I can control because even when I’m not playing, I’m trying to be there for guys and help with their planning,” he said following the victory over USA.
“We don’t really have too much time to even think about being in and out; all I can do is keep training hard and just keep preparing as I’m going to play every game anyway, (and) whichever way the coin falls on the day, (it’s) not too much of a bother for me.”
Jordan will turn out for Surrey in the T20 Blast and Southern Brave in the Hundred after the World Cup before arriving in Hobart in December.
“I really enjoyed my time in Hobart and I’m looking forward to returning for the next two years and building on a lot of the good things we did last season,” Jordan said in a statement.
“I’m excited to work with such a talented group again and hopefully bring a title to Hobart.”
The Hurricanes will be able to add at least two more overseas players to their BBL|14 squad in September after securing picks 4, 12, 21 and 28 in this year’s draft.