Ferguson joins Sydney Thunder on three-year contract

Callum Ferguson has signed up with Sydney Thunder for the next three seasons of the Big Bash League, ending his three-year term with the Melbourne Renegades.

Ferguson, who celebrated his 33rd birthday on Tuesday, has played 76 T20s, scoring 1373 runs at an average of 22.50. He made his debut for Australia in 2009 but injury and poor form have kept him from being a regular in international cricket. Ferguson is a veteran of the domestic scene, though, and he has been in form this season. He assisted South Australia to the final of the JLT One-Day Cup, scoring 73 and 169 in the process, and, earlier this month, he struck 182 not out against Victoria in the Sheffield Shield.

Ferguson, who has also played for Adelaide Strikers as well in the BBL, joins a Thunder squad full of familiar faces. "I've played with Shane Watson, Ben Rohrer and Aiden Blizzard," he said. "There's a few guys who I've had a really good time playing with or against in the past and I've had really good dealings with all of them.

"There's a lot of things that attracted me to Sydney Thunder. It's a great city and I'm looking forward to the experience of being a senior player in a young and talented group."

Michael Hussey, the franchise's director of cricket, said that Ferguson had been on their radar for some time now and was "excited" to have the batsman on board. "He's been one of our main targets throughout the off season," Hussey said, "and we know that there was a lot of competition for his signature."

The Big Bash League kicks off with the Thunder playing the Sydney Sixers on December 19.

Sydney Thunder Squad: Shane Watson (capt), Fawad Ahmed, Aiden Blizzard, Pat Cummins, Callum Ferguson, Ryan Gibson, Chris Green, Jay Lenton, Usman Khawaja, Mitchell McClenaghan, Arjun Nair, Clint McKay, Kurtis Patterson, Ben Rohrer, Gurinder Sandhu.