Photo Credit: Adelaide Strikers
The international arrivals terminal at Adelaide airport will soon welcome a splash of blue, with English allrounder George Garton signing on to join the Strikers for KFC BBL|11.
A damaging left-arm quick, powerful batsman and talented fielder, Garton brings a wide range of elite talents to Adelaide alongside quality short-form experience in a range of environments. Recently signing a long-term deal with English county side Sussex, Garton also starred in the Finals of the inaugural Hundred tournament, claiming Player of the Match honours in the penultimate game and opening the bowling as the Southern Brave claimed the historic first title.
Garton was also a part of the English One-Day International squad for their series against Sri Lanka this year and is currently on route to play alongside Virat Kohli with Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League.
An extremely exciting prospect for the Strikers, Garton has his sights set on immediate success in Adelaide.
“I’m really excited to be a part of the Adelaide Strikers, a club with such a successful history in the Big Bash. It will be great to meet everyone and play with some familiar faces again like Travis, Alex and Rash. Hopefully we can bring the trophy back to Adelaide in BBL|11!”
Strikers Head Coach Jason Gillespie, who knows Garton well from their time together in Sussex, sees huge positives in the signing.
“George has been on England’s radar for a while now. He bowls left arm fast, he can swing the new ball which is great, he is an aggressive left hand batter who can clear the rope and he would be one of the best fielders in the world at the moment. He is top drawer.
“We identified that in the middle-order, to have a batting and bowling option is something that will be extremely useful to us. We are comfortable that we have a lot of great top-order options, but this is an area that we can strengthen within our squad.”
While Garton will be making his Big Bash debut this summer, it will not be the first time he has taking to an Australian field. Gillespie touched on the strong connections the 24-year-old has down under, as well as experience in the warmer climate and existing friendships with key Strikers players.
“His partner is from Melbourne and so he has spent some off-seasons playing in Melbourne in Premier Cricket. He will slot right into our team. He has developed a really good rapport with Travis during their time at Sussex and I know the captain is excited to have him on board.
“He is such a talented cricketer. We are so excited to welcome him to the Strikers.”
