Yorkshire sign Australia seamer Billy Stanlake for Vitality Blast
Skyscraping Australia paceman to join Kane Williamson at Headingley
Thursday 22 February 2018 09:27, UK
Yorkshire have signed Australia seamer Billy Stanlake as their second overseas player for the 2018 Vitality Blast.
The 23-year-old will be available for a minimum of 12 games - he could miss Yorkshire's first two matches due to international commitments - and will join up with New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson at Headingley.
Stanlake was part of the Australia side that went unbeaten in the T20 Tri-Series and defeated New Zealand in Wednesday's final, while he also helped Adelaide Strikers to their maiden Big Bash title earlier this year.
"I'm really excited about heading over to England and representing Yorkshire Vikings in the domestic T20 competition," said Stanlake. "It'll be a great experience and hopefully an exciting few weeks.
"It's a huge club with great history and tradition and I've only heard positive things from the guys who have been there in the past.
"The club have some really experienced pros on their books, who I'll be looking to learn from, but it will also be interesting to see how some of the club's talented youngsters go about their business.
"For me it's about building pressure and taking wickets, and hopefully that will go some way towards contributing to success for the team.
"I'm really enjoying my cricket at the moment, the body feels in a good place and hopefully I enjoy a productive spell with the Vikings in July."
Yorkshire director of cricket, Martyn Moxon, said of 6ft 8in Stanlake: "The pace and bounce he gets really stood out for me and he's a genuine wicket-taker, which is just as important as keeping the runs down in one-day cricket.
"He's something different for us and particularly with David Willey and Liam Plunkett not available for the first period of T20, assuming they're playing for England, he's a nice fit for us."
