'Canes 'unknown quality' to cause a stir

The name Jofra Archer may not be a familiar one for KFC BBL fans, but it's exactly that unknown factor that has his Hobart Hurricanes teammates excited ahead of BBL|07.

A fast-bowling allrounder from Barbados who now plies his trade in England, Archer was a late signing for the Hurricanes, brought in when Tom Curran was called into England's Ashes squad.

The 22-year-old has yet to play international cricket, but since relocating from the Caribbean to the United Kingdom in 2016 he has made a name for himself playing for Sussex on the English domestic circuit.

No one knows better the threat Archer poses with both bat and ball than his Hurricanes and Sussex teammate Tymal Mills, who has also joined Hobart for BBL|07.

He expects Archer's pace to cause plenty of problems for the tournament's batsmen.

"I know Jofra really well, we play together back home," Mills told cricket.com.au. "He's been doing really well in the Bangladesh Premier League … he bowls fast, he's got good skills and he can bat also. He's a really good addition to the team.

"Because he's relatively unknown as well, a lot of the batters won't have faced him, so he'll be an unknown quality coming into here, and hopefully that'll give us a big advantage."

Mills, himself an express paceman who created headlines around the cricket world earlier this year when he pocketed $AUD2.3 million at the Indian Premier League auction, will form a formidable fast-bowling pairing with Archer.

They'll provide a welcome injection of speed to a Hurricanes line-up who will be without England import Stuart Broad and the retired Shaun Tait this season.

Mills made a two-match cameo for the Brisbane Heat in BBL|06 as an injury replacement for Samuel Badree, taking one wicket and bowling with an economy rate of 6.25.

Having signed on with the Hurricanes for two seasons, Mills is eager to make Hobart his home away from home this summer.

"I played wo games for the Heat last year and I wanted to come back (to the BBL) in any capacity, so as soon as Hobart came calling it was pretty straightforward and we got the deal done quickly," Mills said.

"I want to try and win (BBL|07), but I also just want to get right amongst it with the team and with any stuff in the community that we do.

"I've signed a two-year contract here, I'm not just here on a fleeting visit, so I want to make some good friends and play some hard cricket and hopefully have a good time. And obviously I want to try and win."

The Hurricanes won just three matches last summer and finished second bottom on the table. They head into BBL|07 as underdogs, but Mills is happy to accept that tag.

"A lot of guys might have us down as one of the smaller teams, we've got the underdog tag which I think is really good," he said.

"It takes the pressure away from us and puts it onto the other teams.

"We've got a good group of guys and a nice balance to our squad with some good young fast bowlers which you need to take wickets in T20s."

Hobart begin their BBL|07 on December 21 against the Melbourne Renegades at Blundstone Arena.