Thunder lock in young gun on long-term deal

Sydney Thunder have confirmed one of Australia's most exciting young short-form batting talents, Ollie Davies, will remain in lime green on a three-year deal. 

As revealed by cricket.com.au in February, the Thunder had been eager to lock in Davies long term after he turned heads during his maiden KFC Big Bash campaign.

The 20-year-old has now committed to the club on a contract that extends through until BBL|13.

Davies slammed a 22-ball 36 on debut against Perth Scorchers before hitting five consecutive sixes against Melbourne Renegades the following match.

He played only a further six games in BBL|10 and was overlooked for the finals, but Davies has done enough to convince the Thunder to make him one of highest paid BBL players under 21. 

An impressive Marsh One-Day Cup debut for New South Wales, in which Davies hit 57 off 41 against Victoria, further highlighted his white-ball potential with the innings earning plaudits from Blues teammates Steve Smith.

Under new coach Trevor Bayliss, Davies may well assume greater responsibility in the Thunder middle-order after mainstay captain Callum Ferguson departed the club in acrimonious circumstances.

"I am stoked … (I can go out there and) play my game, play with freedom and not worry about losing my contract," said Davies. "I’ve got that security there to go out and play the way I want to play.”

The Thunder are building an impressive nucleus of young players, with promising leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha, who has recently returned from Australia's limited-overs tours of the Caribbean and Bangladesh where he was a travelling reserve, in line to follow Davies in putting pen to paper on a long-term deal.

The Thunder announced Brendan Doggett's return on a two-year contract earlier this month and are believed to be eager to re-sign wicketkeeper Baxter Holt as well.

Usman Khawaja and Chris Green are expected to be the main contenders to replace Ferguson as skipper. 

Bayliss meanwhile takes over from Shane Bond, who had a successful three-year tenure in which the Thunder made finals appearances in BBL|09 and 10, and is eager to see Davies in action.

“According to a lot of people, he’s got a bright future,” said the World Cup-winning former England coach. “From what I did see last year, he’s obviously a good striker of the cricket ball and I’m looking forward to working closely with him over these next three years.”

The Thunder begin their BBL|11 campaign on Monday, December 6, at Canberra’s Manuka Oval against the Brisbane Heat.

Sydney Thunder BBL|11 squad (so far): Jonathan Cook, Ben Cutting, Ollie Davies, Brendan Doggett, Matt Gilkes, Chris Green, Usman Khawaja, Nathan McAndrew, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Tanveer Sangha, Chris Tremain