Harry Gurney to return to Melbourne Renegades for 2018-19 BBL

Harry Gurney, the English left-arm seamer, will return to the Big Bash this winter after signing up for another season at the Melbourne Renegades, where he won the title in his first year in the competition.

Gurney, who played 12 white-ball internationals for England back in 2014, enjoyed a successful first season on the global T20 circuit last winter, playing for the Renegades, Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League, and Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.

As a replacement for Usman Shinwari, he played nine games for the Renegades last season, taking ten wickets with a miserly economy rate of 7.17 despite bowling half his overs at the death.

In the tournament's dramatic final, in which the Stars collapsed from 93 for 0 to 132 for 7 in pursuit of 146, he took 1 for 20 from his four overs.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo's Talking T20 podcast, Gurney described winning the 2018-19 edition of the tournament as a "huge career highlight".

"The Big Bash was a really special one for me," he said. "It's a competition I've admired from a distance for many years.

"To get a chance just to play in it I was over the moon with, so to go over there, play a key role, win a Man-of-the-Match award, and perform consistently and go on and win that trophy was a huge career highlight for me.

"I [usually] bowled one over in the Powerplay, one in the middle, and two at the death, and bowled really well at the death, going at sevens. That's sort of where I've built my reputation."

Gurney, 32, said that he is at the stage of his career where team success comes before individual targets.

"At my age, it's just about winning trophies - those are the best days of your life, so you want to recreate that as much as you can while you're still playing. Your focus becomes more team-based once you become more assured of your spot in the side.

"Early on in your career, you're focused on yourself and making your way in the game, you want to go on and play for England. Once you become a bit old and decrepit like me, you just want to win trophies really."

The regular season in this year's Big Bash has been condensed from 54 days to 42, in part to attract more high-profile overseas players who stay for the duration of the competition.

Last season, several teams used three or four overseas players over the course of the competition, with two players splitting one spot depending on their availability. Competition organisers will hope that Gurney's deal - which lasts the whole tournament - is a sign of things to come.