AJ Tye severs ties with BBL as he signs two-year deal with Yorkshire

Andrew 'AJ' Tye, the former Australia seam bowler, has joined Yorkshire as a locally-registered player for the Vitality Blast, a two-year deal that has effectively ended his record-breaking association with the Big Bash League.

Tye, 39, has claimed 162 wickets at 20.81 in 119 BBL matches, dating back to the 2014 season, which places him second on the all-time wickets list, behind Sean Abbott.

As a specialist death bowler, renowned for his knuckleball, he also featured in 39 white-ball matches for Australia between 2018 and 2021, taking 59 wickets, including 47 in 32 T20Is.

He was synonymous with Perth Scorchers' success in the competition, playing a part in four of their five title-winning campaigns. However, since moving to Melbourne Renegades this season, his opportunities have been more limited, and he has taken just one wicket in two appearances so far this season.

"Having known that my opportunities were starting to dry up a little bit… it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up," Tye said in an interview to Fox Cricket ahead of Thursday's match at the Marvel Stadium. I tried to find one last year but nothing really came about."

Tye has a British passport on account of his parents' UK heritage, and so he is following the route recently taken by Jake Lehmann, who last month confirmed a two-year deal with Hampshire, also as a locally registered player, which effectively ended his hopes of following in the footsteps of his father, Darren, and playing for Australia.

He has previously played as an overseas player in the Blast, for Durham, Northamptonshire and Gloucestershire.

"To be able to have that opportunity to take my family over there, have them experience England, see a lot of our family -- both my parents are English -- so there's a lot of family there," Tye added. "It's a good way for the family to know our little girls, so it made a lot of sense to me.

"It's a real privilege to be signing for Yorkshire," he added. "There is a proud tradition of Australian cricketers at Yorkshire and I'm excited to add to this and get amongst it with the guys."

"I know I can add some real depth of experience to the side. The Blast is a great tournament to be involved in, and I know how important it is to a side like Yorkshire to be in the mix to win it."

Gavin Hamilton, General Manager of Cricket at Yorkshire, said: "AJ is a brilliant signing for us and furthers our aim of complementing the youth of our core squad with proven T20 know-how and experience.

"We believe this blend will stand us in good stead for the Blast and help improve our record in a tournament which we know is important to our members and supporters.

"AJ's variations make him a very dangerous player, and he will be a key voice in helping the development of our squad accelerate even further."