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After declining a national central contract, Finn Allen, an opener for New Zealand, has agreed to a two-year contract with Perth Scorchers.
The Scorchers’ decision to acquire Allen will be officialised in the next few days. Earlier this week, it was reported that Allen was the most recent player from New Zealand to choose to forego a contract in order to pursue franchise prospects.
Even though West Indies left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein has been connected to the Sixers, the Scorchers were one of just three BBL teams, along with Adelaide Strikers and Sydney Sixers, who had not yet announced a pre-draft signing under the new system that permits multi-year deals.
Allen was initially on the NZC contract list that was made public last month, and it’s believed that the Scorchers’ interest was only recently expressed. This implies that he will not be available for the late-December start of the white-ball series against Sri Lanka.
With at least 3000 runs in the format, Allen has the second-highest T20 strike rate of any batter, only surpassed by Andre Russell, at 168.60. Allen has two Twenty20 International hundreds to his credit. In the 2022 T20 World Cup, he also made a big impression against Australia by hitting 42 off 16 balls against Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins, setting the stage for New Zealand’s decisive victory. He did not fare well in the 2024 World Cup, though.
After Tim Seifert (Melbourne Renegades) and Colin Munro (Brisbane Heat), he will be the third confirmed New Zealand player for the BBL. While Munro formally retired from international cricket earlier this year after missing the T20 World Cup squad, Seifert declined a domestic deal with Northern Districts.
The gaping position left by Cameron Bancroft’s departure to the Sydney Thunder last season proved difficult for the Scorchers to fill. Zak Crawley of England scored two half-centuries in six innings, while the other players were hard-pressed to find much success, with one attempt to promote Cooper Connolly ending in failure.
Since Allen was signed before the draft, it is unclear if Laurie Evans, who led the Scorchers to 292 runs at 58.40 and a strike rate of 189.61 the previous season before departing for the ILT20, will return. It is claimed that the Scorchers looked into the potential of Evans joining them before the draft, but his availability was a problem because he already had a contract with the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the United Arab Emirates.
The Scorchers have picks 7, 15, 18, and 31 in the BBL draft, which takes place on September 1.