Shock BBL link for Ashes villain; surprise twist as Aussie star joins FIFTH team – Trades
Stokes joins Strikers | 02:49
Tim Miller from Fox SportsSeptember 4th, 2026 10:24 am
The 2026/27 Big Bash League season could featured a second Australian nemesis, with Jonny Bairstow linked to a maiden BBL stint.
Meanwhile, a star Australian has joined a fifth franchise ahead of the 2026/27 season.
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MELBOURNE TEAM’S BAIRSTOW LINK
Ashes villain Jonny Bairstow could join countryman Ben Stokes in Australia over the summer, with the Melbourne Renegades looking to sign the veteran wicketkeeper-batter.
According to SEN reporter Tom Morris, the Renegades,
According to SEN reporter Tom Morris, the Renegades, who face an uncertain future after Cricket Victoria revealed its plan to sell the franchise and merge its operations behind the Melbourne Stars, have “expressed interest” in luring Bairstow down under.
The 36-year old has long been a staple of the T20 franchise circuit, having featured in six IPL seasons as well as in South Africa’s SA20 tournament and England’s Vitality Blast and The Hundred.
However, he has never featured in the BBL before, though he signed with the Melbourne Stars for the 2020/21 season before withdrawing due to a call-up for national duties.
A strong limited-overs performer, Bairstow has 6921 T20
A strong limited-overs performer, Bairstow has 6921 T20 runs to his name at 30.22, with five centuries.
He also played a key role in England’s drought-breaking maiden World Cup title in 2019, though he missed the 2022 T20 World Cup victory in Australia due to a broken leg.
His infamous stumping during the second Test of the 2023 Ashes, when he walked out of his crease before Alex Carey threw down the stumps, was a major talking point out of an acrimonious series, triggering an international debate over the spirit of the game and leaving English fans infuriated.
Bairstow hasn’t featured at international level for England
Bairstow hasn’t featured at international level for England since the 2024 T20 World Cup, having played the last of his 100 Tests in March 2024.
Adam Zampa will once again be in new colours for BBL16.
After a three-season stint with the Melbourne Renegades, the Australian spinner will join the Hobart Hurricanes for the 2026/27 season on a two-year deal, as reported by SEN’s Tom Morris.
The move comes despite Zampa having left home state New South Wales to sign with Queensland for the domestic summer, after which he was closely linked to the Brisbane Heat.
The move comes after the Hurricanes finished third
The move comes after the Hurricanes finished third in BBL15, backing up their maiden title defence the season prior.
Zampa, who featured in Australia’s T20 World Cup and ODI World Cup triumphs in 2021 and 2023 respectively, is yet to win a BBL title despite having appeared in 14 of 15 seasons.
The Hurricanes will be his fifth Big Bash franchise.
The 34-year old began at the Sydney Thunder before switching to the Adelaide Strikers for BBL03.
He then spent eight seasons with the Melbourne
He then spent eight seasons with the Melbourne Stars, including losses in the BBL final in 2015/16, 2018/19 and 2019/20, before a shock switch to crosstown rivals the Renegades.
Zampa is set to be available for the entire BBL season, with Australia playing no limited-overs internationals from December 2026-February 2027 – a period dominated by four home Tests against New Zealand and a blockbuster five-Test tour of India.
SECOND POM TO JOIN STOKES DOWN UNDER
England leg-spinner Calvin Harrison will join champion all-rounder Ben Stokes in the Big Bash League this summer, after signing with the Perth Scorchers.
Hours after Stokes was announced as a marquee
Hours after Stokes was announced as a marquee recruit for the Adelaide Strikers, the lower-profile Harrison joins a lengthy list of English stars to have featured for the six-time BBL champions.
Previously, Matt Hurst, Keaton Jennings, Zak Crawley, David Payne, Stephen Eskinazi, Adam Lyth, Tymal Mills, Laurie Evans, Jason Roy, Joe Clarke, Liam Livingstone, Chris Jordan, Tim Bresnan, Ian Bell, David Willey, Michael Carberry and Paul Collingwood have donned orange.
The 28-year old spinner was born in South Africa and raised in New Zealand before joining Somerset’s Academy as a teenager.
He has emerged as one of the country’s leading T20 spinners, having claimed 97 wickets at 22.28 in 99 T20 matches to date, including ten at 19.7 in this year’s Hundred.
The stint with the Scorchers will be his first professional appearance outside England.
Source: www.foxsports.com.au
