“This is an excellent opportunity for David”

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

All-rounder David Willey has been given permission to skip the England Lions’ tour of the United Arab Emirates in December and January in order to represent the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League (BBL).

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have been very uptight in regards to players participating in domestic Twenty20 tournaments. But, with the 2016 World Twenty20 drawing ever closer, the board believes that Willey will gain a lot of experience by playing in the BBL.

Willey will be available for the whole tournament, in which the Scorchers will kick off their campaign against the Adelaide Strikers on December 21. Should the Scorchers reach the final, Willey will be in Australia until January 24.

“This is an excellent opportunity for David,” ECB director of cricket Andrew Strauss told reporters. “It will be the ideal preparation for him leading into the ICC World T20 in India next year – giving him the chance to focus on the T20 format for an extended period of time, and improve his skills accordingly.”

Scorchers head coach Justin Langer welcomed the news of having the explosive all-rounder for the entire season, and said: “David Willey is an up-and-coming, very hungry, hard-working, young player who will hopefully provide [us] with some power hitting in the middle overs [and his] left-arm swing bowling.

“He’s showed how well he can do that against the Aussies in the one-dayers a few months ago and he’s a gun fielder. He’s also renowned for his work ethic and character. It’s a really good package.”