Christian heads home in BBL signing coup

A chance conversation has helped the Sydney Sixers recruit one of the most decorated players in the history of T20 cricket for the club's KFC BBL title defence this summer.

In a move first reported by cricket.com.au 10 days ago, veteran allrounder Dan Christian, who has won seven T20 trophies around the globe, has signed a two-year deal to return to Sydney, where his professional career began at NSW 14 years ago.

Christian still had a year left to run on his contract with the Melbourne Renegades, but a throwaway line to his close friend Moises Henriques, the Sixers' captain, set the wheels in motion for the defending champions to pull off the signing coup.

"We were just chatting one day and I mentioned my desire to head back to Sydney at some stage and look to finish my career where it started," Christian told cricket.com.au from the UK, where he's captaining Notts in England's domestic competition.

"It was more of a casual chat between Moises and I to start with and then it just snowballed from there and it's come to fruition.

"I'm a blue bagger, I always have been. I'll always go for New South Wales in the State of Origin.

"Cricket's taken me to other places and given me other opportunities … but to be able to cap it off (by) playing back in my home state and having the SCG as my home ground again, it's really enticing. Not everyone gets that opportunity."

Christian's departure from the Renegades has been amicable and a win for both franchises, with the BBL08 champions happy to create some room in their salary cap as they look to make changes to their list following a bottom-placed finish last summer.

His move follows the departure of fellow Renegades veteran Tom Cooper to the Brisbane Heat earlier this week.

The Sixers will be the 17th T20 franchise Christian has played for in his career (and the fourth BBL club), and while he'll be 38 by the time his contract comes to an end, he's far from finished winning trophies just yet.

Having captained Notts to an undefeated start in the T20 Blast, he's boldly declared his side could even go undefeated this season, which would secure him an eighth T20 crown in the coming weeks.

And after a rare six-month break from the game earlier this year, he's also confident of playing on beyond his two-year deal with the Sixers.

"If I'm still enjoying it, and I'm sure I will be, there's no reason why I won't be able to keep going," he said.

"I'm feeling really good and I'm loving my cricket. I've done a bit of work in lockdown and the off-season on my fitness and technical stuff with my bowling. I've got a bit of pace back with my bowling that I've probably lost in the last couple of years and I've worked on my agility in the field to get that back to where it was in my late twenties.

"(At Notts) we won it in 2017, lost the semi-finals in 2016 and 2019 … and I think this is probably the best team we've had. We're a really, really strong team and we're playing really good cricket so there's no reason why we shouldn't go undefeated, I think."

While the opportunity to return to Sydney and reunite with his former NSW teammates like Henriques and Steve O’Keefe was one of Christian's main motivations for the switch, the chance to play under coach Greg Shipperd again was just as enticing.

The pair enjoyed great success together at Victoria and having returned to NRL heartland, it's fitting that Christian invoked a rugby league legend when talking about Shipperd's coaching style.

"He's almost got a little bit of a Wayne Bennett feel to him," he said.

"He sits in the background a bit, doesn't say much in the media, but everyone who plays under him absolutely loves him and he's had a lot of success.

"He's a wonderful coach, he knows the game inside and out - particularly from a batting perspective - and he creates a wonderful environment where guys are encouraged to flourish."

Having previously played for the Heat and Hurricanes as well as the Renegades, Christian will become just the sixth player to represent four different BBL teams, joining Alex Hales, Joe Mennie, Ben Dunk, Nathan Reardon and Josh Lalor.

Dan Christian's T20 franchises: New South Wales, South Australia, Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes, Melbourne Renegades, Sydney Sixers (all Australia), Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire (all England), Deccan Chargers, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rising Pune Supergiant, Delhi Daredevils (all India), Trinbago Knight Riders (West Indies), Jozi Stars (South Africa), Multan Sultans (Pakistan)

Sydney Sixers BBL|10 squad: Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird, Dan Christian, Tom Curran, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Mickey Edwards, Moises Henriques (c), Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Nathan Lyon, Ben Manenti, Stephen O'Keefe, Josh Philippe, Lloyd Pope, Jordan Silk (two be named)