Melbourne, November 20: South Africa batsman David Miller has signed with the Hobart Hurricanes for the upcoming edition of the Big Bash League (BBL). The 30-year-old will be available to play all 14 home and away games before returning to play for the Proteas against England during their international season, the franchise said in a statement on Wednesday. Miller joins Afghan Qais Ahmad as the club's second overseas signing for BBL Season 9.

With nearly 300 T20 games under his belt, Miller will be expected to stand up when Matthew Wade and possibly D'Arcy Short and Ben McDermott are picked for Australia internationals. "It's very exciting to welcome a player of David's calibre to the Hurricanes," said Cricket Tasmania CEO Nick Cummins. David Miller Seen Playing With Aiden Markram's 'Balls' During One Of South Africa's Matches At ICC CWC 2019; Twitteratti Cannot Get Enough Of This Viral Video.

"We've built a reputation as a destination club amongst internationals, and we are confident David's hard hitting batting will give our members and fans great entertainment, and possibly a few opportunities to catch a six!" "We expect to lose some batting experience throughout the season, so David will provide valuable runs in our drive to our third successive finals campaign." Cummins said.

Miller is well known to Tasmanian cricket fans with Hobart a happy hunting ground. In 2018 he belted 139 off 108 balls at Blundstone Arena as he and Faf du Plessis guided South Africa to victory against Australia in a 252 run stand. The Hobart Hurricanes will kick off their campaign on December 20 against the Sydney Sixers.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 20, 2019 11:22 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).