West Indies striker joins Scorchers
Big-hitting West Indian batsman Dwayne Smith has signed as the Perth Scorchers' second international player for new Big Bash League season.
And WA's Shaun Marsh has extended his contract with the Twenty20 franchise until the end of the 2015-16 season.
Smith is an accomplished short game specialist having represented Sussex, Deccan Chargers, Mumbai Indians and his country at T20 level.
The 30-year-old will join the Scorchers in intimidating form after being named the 2013 Champions League player of the series, a tournament at which he helped Mumbai claim the title with 223 runs at an average of 55.75 and a stunning strike rate of 142.94.
Smith has previously played T20 cricket on Australian shores as a member of the NSW outfit in the 2009-10 Big Bash League.
Perth coach Justin Langer, who has seen Smith’s work firsthand both as Scorchers coach and in his former role as Australian batting coach, tipped the West Indian to add an x-factor to the Perth lineup.
“We witnessed firsthand how destructive he can be as a top-order, opening batsman,” Langer said.
“Dwayne is a fantastic batsman, he’s a brilliant fieldsman and he can bowl some overs, so he’s a great addition to the Scorchers."
Langer said the fact Smith was available for the entirety of the BBL competition, as well as his stunning form over the past 12 months, had made him an attractive acquisition.
“He was very keen to get back to BBL so it was a pretty easy negotiation,” Langer said.
“He was high on the list, because of the challenges you have with securing overseas players.
“It is almost impossible to get current players to play for the duration, which was one of the criteria.
“We could have got some of the England players but we would have got one of the one day guys for three or four games.”
Marsh said extending his contract had been an easy decision and that he was excited to be teaming up with Smith at the top of the order.
“I have had the pleasure of watching him play in the IPL and for the West Indies over the last few years and he certainly brings a lot of excitement to the game with bat, ball and in the field,” Marsh said.
“He’s a really aggressive player and I think we will work really well together at the top.”
Smith joins South African Alfonso Thomas as Perth's two international players.
The Scorchers begin their BBL campaign with a match against Brisbane Heat at the Gabba on December 22.
Perth Scorchers squad (one to be named): Simon Katich (c), Ashton Agar, Michael Beer, Jason Behrendorff, Hilton Cartwright, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Liam Davis, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Joel Paris, Dwayne Smith, Alfonso Thomas, Tom Triffitt, Ashton Turner, Adam Voges, Sam Whiteman.
