Morgan returns to boost Thunder

England Captain Eoin Morgan will return to play for Sydney Thunder for the first half of the KFC T20 Big Bash League.

Morgan returns to the reigning KFC Big Bash League Champions for his third stint with the Club, having previously played eight games, scoring 159 runs.

“I’m delighted to be back at Sydney Thunder, particularly after the success they had last year, it’s great to be back and wearing the green shirt,” he said. 

“Watching from afar the progress of the side last year was awesome and I was delighted for everybody at the club.”

Morgan has continued to be impressed with the growth that the KFC Big Bash League has seen since he made his debut for Sydney Thunder in BBL|03.

“It’s gotten bigger every year and the product now puts it right up there with the IPL in India,” he added.

“It’s a fantastic tournament to play in, it attracts the wider public and not just a cricket following and more importantly it attracts families to it.

“Cricket Australia have done a great job growing the game through the vehicle that is the Big Bash.”

Morgan has scored 7,180 international runs across all formats and Thunder director of cricket Mike Hussey believes he is the perfect replacement for his own retirement.

“Eoin is one of the most respected players in world cricket,” Hussey said.

“He is a very destructive batsman capable of incredible T20 performances who has a wealth of experience playing at the very highest level.

“As an international captain, Eoin also brings key leadership qualities that will assist Shane and the the team."

Sydney Thunder general manager Nick Cummins believes the addition of Eoin Morgan, who joins West Indian allrounder Andre Russell as the club’s second overseas player, will be a major boost for the side.

“Eoin has been a great asset to the club in previous years both on and off the field, and with Mike retiring he will bring dynamic batting to the middle order,” Cummins said.

“We expect he will be available for the first half of the season, and we’ll be announcing his replacement for the second half of the BBL shortly.”

Morgan is scheduled to play for the first five games of BB06 before he joins up with the England side for their ODI and T20 series in India.

Thunder BBL|06 Squad: Shane Watson (c), Fawad Ahmed, Aiden Blizzard, Pat Cummins, Jake Doran, Ryan Gibson, Chris Green, Usman Khawaja, Eoin Morgan, Nathan McAndrew, Alister McDermott, Clint McKay, Arjun Nair, Kurtis Patterson, Ben Rohrer, Andre Russell, Gurinder Sandhu, Jason Sangha (Community Rookie).

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