BBL: James Bazley joins Brisbane Heat

Brisbane Heat have announced the signing of James Bazley for the upcoming season of the Big Bash League (BBL). "The Brisbane Heat have signed Redlands allrounder James Bazley for the BBL|10 Season, bringing full circle a six-year journey to a full Big Bash League contract with the team in teal," the club said in a statement.

Brisbane Heat coach Darren Lehmann said Bazley's versatility and talent had attracted the club's attention. "James has certainly had to overcome a few challenges to get to this point, but we know he is a resilient character and a skilled player of enormous potential, and we're looking forward to helping him showcase his skills and helping the Heat do really well this year," Lehmann said in a statement.

"He's got great variety in his bowling and is courageous in the death overs, he's a talented bat who hits a long ball, so we think he will be very handy. He was highly rated as a young player and when you add in his maturity now, he should be a real asset to the team. We're pretty happy with how things are coming together as we get close to starting our preparations. There's a few areas to finalise but it has been a rewarding lead-in so far to the BBL," he added. The Heat opens its season in Canberra on December 11 against the Melbourne Stars, followed by a clash with the Sydney Thunder on December 14 at Manuka Oval before returning home to play the next block of games.

After inking the deal, Bazley said: "It has been quite a journey to get to this point, but I've persevered and worked through it and its hugely exciting to finally be back and with the Heat now on the eve of the BBL." "I've been very fortunate to have had great support along the way and the chance to experience the different challenges away from cricket has been inspiring. I certainly have a different perspective on the game now than when I did when I was starting out and I'm certainly a very different player," he added. (ANI)