Elliott requests move to South Australia

Matthew Elliott has applied for a surprise transfer from Victoria, his state of 12 years, to South Australia next season. The discussions with the South Australia Cricket Association (SACA) began last month and Elliott, who is contracted to Cricket Australia and Cricket Victoria until June, must wait seven days before the move is finalised.

Elliott lodged the request today and said he was excited by the Redbacks' young talent. "I look forward to relocating to Adelaide when my family and I return from the UK later this year," Elliott, who is currently with the county side Glamorgan, said.

Harvey Jolly, the SACA general manager of cricket, said Elliott would be an outstanding asset. "Matthew is one of the country's finest batsmen and will bring enormous talent and experience to our young side," he said. "We see Matthew as someone who not only strengthens our batting, but also gives support to Greg [Blewett] and Darren [Lehmann] in the top order. The three of them will be the perfect mentors for our young up-and-coming batsmen."

Elliott, 33, has played 183 first-class matches with an average of 49.82 since his Victoria debut in 1992-93. He has represented Australia in 21 Tests, scoring 1172 runs at 33.48, and his last appearance came against Sri Lanka at Darwin in 2004.