Holders Birmingham Bears have added another star name to this year’s NatWest T20 Blast with the signing of devastating batsman Brendon McCullum for after New Zealand’s tour of England.
The Blacks Caps captain is the leading scorer in the history of Twenty20 internationals and is in the form of his life, having led his country to the World Cup final with several breath-taking innings.
McCullum joins a series of high-profile Blast signings, including Chris Gayle for Somerset, Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell for Yorkshire Vikings, Tillakaratne Dilshan for Derbyshire Falcons, Mahela Jayawardene for Sussex Sharks and Shahid Afridi for Northants Steelbacks.
McCullum is scheduled to first be available to the Bears against Lancashire Lightning at Emirates Old Trafford on Friday 26 June, for a repeat of last year’s final.
Birmingham Bears director of cricket Dougie Brown said: “Brendon’s dynamic performances in the ICC Cricket World Cup have demonstrated once again exactly why he is one of the most feared batsmen in the game.
“Securing his availability for our last seven games has to make him one of the biggest overseas player signings in the competition’s history.
“His power at the top of the order and experience of playing in big matches are great assets to bolster our already strong squad as we look to win through to the quarter-finals and defend our NatWest T20 Blast title.”
McCullum has amassed 2,105 T20 international runs at an average of 35.67, including two centuries.
He has enjoyed previous spells in England with Sussex Sharks and Glamorgan, and was one of the leading scorers in last year’s Indian Premier League with 405 runs for the Chennai Super Kings.
McCullum said: “Birmingham Bears had a great season last year, including winning the NatWest T20 Blast, and hopefully I can make a big contribution and ensure that we can progress in the tournament.
BREAKING NEWS: Brendon McCullum will join Birmingham Bears for 7 games in our @NatWestT20Blast defence #YouBears pic.twitter.com/LouD3XnfoR
— Warwickshire CCC (@CricketingBears) March 31, 2015
“Edgbaston is a fantastic ground to play at and hopefully it will be rocking for the big Friday night matches. I’m really excited about becoming a Bear and the challenge ahead.”
Bears supporters will have the chance to see McCullum in action in three home games at Edgbaston, the visits of Derbyshire Falcons on Friday 3 July, Lancashire Lightning on Friday 17 July and Northants Steelbacks on Wednesday 22 July.
“It was great to see bigger crowds at Edgbaston for our Friday night NatWest T20 Blast matches last season,” Brown added.
“Hopefully the opportunity to see one of the greatest limited-overs batsmen of the modern game will ensure that we get even more fans to Edgbaston and supporting the Bears in the new season.”
Under-16s go free to all seven of the Birmingham Bears matches at Edgbaston in this year’s NatWest T20 Blast with adult tickets available at the early bird price of £14 (including booking fee) until midnight on April 23. Advance prices increase to £18 for adults from April 24 and £22 on the gate. Visit www.edgbaston.com or call the ticket hotline on 0844 847 1902 to purchase.
Absolutely delighted to secure Brendon McCullum for the 2015 @NatWestT20Blast@CricketingBears Some quality players around this season!
— Dougie Brown (@dougie1brown) March 31, 2015