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Ollie Pope Signs With Strikers; Sixers Seal A Deal With Akeal Hosein

Ollie Pope and Akeal Hosein [X]Ollie Pope and Akeal Hosein [X]

The newest Test skipper of England has signed up a deal with the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League. Ollie Pope will look to rejuvenate his white ball career with the chance that he gets in this sting. The Sydney Sixers have gone onto sign with West Indian spinner, Akeal Hosein for the upcoming season. 

Ollie Pope is currently captaining the English team in the Test series against Sri Lanka. The English middle order batter who has not been in the white ball scheme of things will try and bid for his case in the shorter formats of the game with a good show in the tournament. 


Notably, Pope has so far scored 1,295 runs in his T20 career at an average of 28.77 and a strike rate of 132.82. During his sting with the Strikers, Pope will have an opportunity to team with his Ashes rivals like Alex Carrey and Travis Head. 

The new head coach of the Strikers, Tim Paime seemed excited with the signing of Pope - "Ollie Pope is an exceptional talent with a proven track record at the highest level. His dynamic batting style and wicket-keeping abilities are a fantastic addition to our squad." (as quoted by ESPNCricinfo)

Akeal Hosein to fill the vacuum created by Steven O'Keefe's retirement

Steven O' Keefe has announced his retirement from BBL after the 2023-24 season. This will create a gap in the spin department of the Sydney Sixers. The franchise have identified Akeal Hosein as the ideal replacement, even though the West Indian will be available only for the first seven matches due to an ILT20 commitment with the MI Emirates. 

In the previous edition of the tournament, Hosein was seen playing for the Melbourne Renegades. During the 2022-23 season, he played nine games for the Renegades and picked up 13 wickets. 

"With the retirement of Steve O'Keefe last season, we identified a gap for us to fill and Akeal is going to play a key role for us in that position. We expect him to bowl some really important overs for us, but we also know he's a talented fielder and a capable tail-end batter who'll be able to provide crucial runs in the back end of an innings if required,"- the general manager of Sydney Sixers, Rache Haynes opined about Hosein's signing (as quoted by ESPNCricinfo).

The BBL draft will take place on September 1.