“He knows what it takes to win a BBL final and we can’t wait to see what he can do at Adelaide Oval”

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

Following his stellar Big Bash League (BBL) season with the Perth Scorchers, Craig Simmons has decided to leave the defending champions after being offered a three-year contract by the Adelaide Strikers.

Simmons scored two centuries during last year’s BBL season, which drastically increased his stock.

“No other player managed a century in BBL 03 and Simmons did it twice,” Strikers head coach Darren Berry said. “Simmons is a genuine hitter of the ball and an exciting talent.

“He knows what it takes to win a BBL final and we can’t wait to see what he can do at Adelaide Oval.”

Scorchers coach Justin Langer admitted to being shocked and disappointed by Simmons’ decision to leave the team after they won the tournament.

“He was a bit of a pin-up boy for us,” Langer said. “My reaction was one of great shock and, of course, disappointment. Craig Simmons is a fantastic bloke and a fantastic West Australian and he was one of the stories of the year of our BBL win last year.

“That said, I’ve been saying since day 1 in this job that one of the main foundations of our cricket going forward is club cricket. If we take something from this: it’s very exciting to see West Australian cricketers like Craig doing so well for the Scorchers and it’s enabled him to have another opportunity and, while we’d love to still have him at the Scorchers, it’s now time to find the next Craig Simmons out of West Australian cricket.”