Carlisle embraces competition in formidable 'Canes pace attack

Emerging Tasmanian quick Iain Carlisle has his sights set on a Big Bash debut this summer after penning a new two-year deal with Hobart Hurricanes.

Carlisle, who enjoyed a breakout red-ball campaign for the Tigers at the back end of last summer and was part of their side for the Sheffield Shield final, re-signs with the Hurricanes after being part of their squad for the past two seasons.

While he is yet to make his KFC BBL debut, head coach Jeff Vaughan believes the 24-year-old has all the skills required to be a successful T20 bowler.

Hobart Hurricanes BBL|14 squad (so far): Iain Carlisle, 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

"We know that he is seriously talented and has all the skills required to be a threat in the shortest form of the game, with his swinging of the new ball, great variation and a strong bouncer," Vaughan said.

"Despite there being plenty of competition for spots, I know Iain will put his best foot forward and potentially play a role for us in upcoming seasons.

"Iain is incredibly driven to be a successful cricketer, it has filled me and the rest of the coaching staff with pride watching his improvement over the past few seasons, and his success in red-ball cricket is a just reward for the effort he has put in."

Carlisle, who took three wickets in each innings of last season's Shield final loss to Western Australia, bolsters an already strong Hobart pace attack featuring Riley Meredith, skipper Nathan Ellis and England star Chris Jordan.

Fellow Australian-capped quick Billy Stanlake was also part of the Hurricanes list last season, playing one match against Perth Scorchers in December.

Born in Canberra and raised in Wollongong and Sydney before moving to Tasmania at the start of the 2019-20 season, right-armer Carlisle broke into the Tigers' first choice Shield XI during their run to the 2023-24 decider with 20 wickets at 21.25 in their final four matches of the season.

The former Australia under-19 representative has developed under the mentorship of renowned bowling coach Rob Cassell and veterans Jackson Bird and Peter Siddle at Tasmania and said he was stoked to return for a third season with the Hurricanes.

"I'm looking forward to hopefully breaking into the starting XI in the coming season while helping bring success to the organisation," he said.

Hurricanes high performance general manager Salliann Beams last week revealed the club would target an allrounder and top-order batter in September's overseas player draft after securing Jordan as their direct signing on a two-year deal.