BASHLEY skipper Richard Morris has welcomed the addition of Tom Andrews as the club’s new overseas player for the forthcoming season.
Andrews was a team-mate of Australia Test batsman Phillip Hughes, who died after being struck on the top of the neck by a ball during a match in Sydney in November.
The 20-year-old was a rookie in the South Australia squad and was on duty at the SCG when Hughes sustained the fatal blow in a Sheffield Shield game against New South Wales.
Darwin-born Andrews, who helped Australia to fourth place at last year’s Under-19 World Cup, was also named as a supplementary player by the Adelaide Strikers for last month’s Big Bash series.
Andrews, predominantly a left-arm spin bowler, will link up with Southern Premier League Bashley in April as part of the Ageas Bowl Elite International Cricket Academy scheme.
Morris told the Daily Echo: “Tom is a couple of years older than Jaron Morgan who we had with us last season and that makes a bit of a difference at that age.
“He is due to make his First-class debut for South Australia in the Sheffield Shield (today against Western Australia) and comes highly recommended.
“He shares a house with Travis Head who was Ventnor’s overseas player a couple of years ago and did really well in our league.
“He is doing really well in Australia and it is going to be good for us to have a bowler this season as opposed to a batter. They can influence a game all-day long as opposed to a batter who, if he plays one bad shot or has a bit of bad luck, his game can be over.
“I am sure he is going to be good for us.”
Lymington, meanwhile, have secured the services of Seb Gotch, a 21-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman who turned out for the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash.
Gotch, also a talented footballer, was Melbourne Cricket Club’s most valuable player last summer and has represented Australia at under-19 level.
The two other players from the Ageas Bowl Elite International Cricket Academy are Sean Willis, who will play for Ventnor, and Jake Doran, who will turn out for Henley.
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