Surrey sign Australian all-rounder Aaron Hardie for T20 blast campaign

Australian all-rounder Aaron Hardie has joined Surrey for the rest of their T20 Blast campaign. Aaron Hardie is one of the brightest all-around talents in the Australian domestic circuit. The lanky right-arm medium-pace bowler will be a vital addition to Surrey's quest for the title. Surrey is currently top of the South Group in the T20 Blast, with nine wins from 12 matches and guaranteed a top-two finish. 

The 23-year-old all-rounder has just finished Australia A tour of Sri Lanka, where he scored 226 runs at an average of 77 and took five wickets. He scored 174 not out to help Western Australia win this year's Sheffield Shield final, as well as taking 3-54. Hardie was part of the Perth Scorchers side that won this year's Big Bash and played in their 2021 final defeat.  

Hardie commented on joining Surrey: "I'm super stoked to be joining Surrey. I spoke to Laurie [Evans], and Jason [Roy] about what it's like to play here at The Kia Oval and I'm really excited to see what the crowd brings on Friday. 

“I'm keen to learn from players like Hashim as well as the younger guys in the dressing room like Will Jacks, and I hope I can make a good contribution to the team."

He will also be available for Surrey's County Championship match at Yorkshire, which starts on 11 July.  

"Aaron's all-round skill set will bring us very good options in our T20 campaign and the County Championship game at Scarborough," director of cricket Alec Stewart told the club website.  

He dismissed Root, playing for Cricket Australia XI and took a sensational catch of his bowling to get rid of Virat Kohli against India in a tour match. Aaron picked up the wicket of India's white-ball sensation, Rohit Sharma too and ended up with four wickets in the first innings of the tour match against India. 

Hardie was awarded a rookie contract for both the Western Australia State Men's and Scorchers squads for the first time in 2018-19. The 21-year-old captained the WA Under 19s side to victory at the Cricket Australia National Under 19s Championships in 2017 and earned Australian selection, highlighted by an impressive knock of 85 against Pakistan.