Thunder re-sign leading run scorer for BBL|11

Alex Hales remains on the outer with England but he will again link up with coach Trevor Bayliss after the opener committed to returning to the Sydney Thunder for this summer's KFC BBL.

The news is a sizeable coup for the Thunder after the 32-year-old topped the BBL|10 run-scoring charts with 543 runs at 38.78 and a strike rate of 161.60 as well as a tournament-leading 30 sixes.

Bayliss was the England head coach when Hales was banished from the national set-up for two failed recreational drugs tests in the lead-up to the 2019 World Cup. 

Bayliss left England after that year's Ashes series and was announced as the Thunder's new coach in June, replacing Shane Bond. 

Hales has since established himself as one of the most consistently devastating batsmen on the global T20 circuit, but has also made no secret of his desire to return to international cricket.

While a return to the England set-up for this year's T20 World Cup looks remote with Eoin Morgan remaining as skipper, Hales will know another dominant performance in the Big Bash could only help strengthen his case, with the 2022 T20 World Cup to be held Down Under.

In March, England's director of cricket Ashley Giles said: "we all know what a good player Alex is … there has to be a way back in", but that was not forthcoming for England's home series this northern summer. 

Hales even remained on the outer when a handful of COVID-19 infections meant England were forced to pick a second-string side for their series against Pakistan in June

Hales has, in the meantime, continued to pile up the runs in the shortest formats.

He scored 482 runs at a strike rate of 178.52 with Nottingham in this year's T20 Blast, 139 at 171.60 in four games of the first phase of the Pakistan Super League, and added 185 at 132.14 for the Trent Rockets in the inaugural season of the Hundred. 

"I'm obviously desperate to get back into the England team," Hales told Sky Sports earlier this year.

"The pinnacle of cricket is still international cricket, so I'd love to be able to force my way back into that limited-overs side somehow.

"I think I'm a lot better (player now) but I guess it's hard to tell when you've not played for a couple of years. I still feel like I'm sharp, and fit. I still feel like I can challenge the best bowlers in the world, so I definitely feel like I'm good enough to still be playing, and hopefully I can get another crack."

Hales becomes the fifth international to re-commit for this summer's BBL, and the seventh overall confirmed to play with two players already on multi-year deals.

The announcement of his return to the Thunder follows hot on the heels of yesterday's confirmation from the Sydney Sixers that James Vince will also be back this summer, while the Brisbane Heat also announced Mujeeb Ur Rahman will be back for another season

The Sixers had already announced the return of West Indies allrounder Carlos Brathwaite, with Tom Curran previously contracted to return. 

Hobart last week confirmed the return of Sandeep Lamichhane for the entire BBL|11 season, while the Brisbane Heat's Tom Banton is the other international already signed on for BBL|11.

The Hurricanes are understood to have also agreed terms with an English batter, while Afghanistan spinner Qais Ahmed is rumoured to be heading to a Melbourne club.

The Thunder are building an impressive nucleus of young players, with Ollie Davies having committed to a three-year deal, making him one of the highest-paid Big Bash players under the age of 21. 

And promising leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha, who has recently returned from Australia's limited-overs tours of the Caribbean and Bangladesh where he was a travelling reserve, is in line to follow Davies in putting pen to paper on a long-term deal.

The Thunder announced Brendan Doggett's return on a two-year contract last month and have also re-signed wicketkeeper Baxter Holt as well.

The club are yet to confirm who will be their club captain following the acrimonious split with Callum Ferguson after last summer, although Usman Khawaja is widely expected to land the role, with Chris Green also in contention.

The Thunder have two domestic spots yet to be filled, with Arjun Nair and Jason Sangha yet to commit to returning to the club. 

They are known to be keen on a return for Sam Billings, although last-summer's international pace bowling recruit Adam Milne is not expected to be available due to international commitments.

The Thunder are scheduled to begin their BBL|11 campaign on December 6 at Canberra’s Manuka Oval against the Brisbane Heat in a rematch of last summer's Knockout final, where the Heat triumphed.

Sydney Thunder's BBL|11 squad (so far): Jonathan Cook, Ben Cutting, Ollie Davies, Brendan Doggett, Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Alex Hales, Baxter Holt, Usman Khawaja, Nathan McAndrew, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Tanveer Sangha, Chris Tremain.