Hobart Hurricanes sign Stuart Broad as bowler looks to rekindle white ball ambitions with England

Stuart Broad's quest to get back playing white-ball cricket for England will include a post-Christmas stint in the 2016-17 KFC T20 Big Bash League.

The Nottinghamshire fast bowler, who still a prominent figure for his country at Test level but is certainly not a universally popular character in Australia, has been successfully recruited by Tasmania's Hobart Hurricanes ahead of BBL|06.

Broad previously spent a brief spell as his country's T20 captain, but has not featured in the game's shortest format at international level since 2014 and was omitted from the squad that reached the ICC World Twenty20 final in India earlier this year.

He has also only played two ODI matches in the aftermath of last year's dismal 50-over World Cup failure that saw England knocked out at the group stage, but will hope that a positive spell Down Under can help to press his claims for a return ahead of the 2019 tournament set to be staged on home soil.

"From a personal point of view the BBL looks like a fantastic competition to be involved in," said the 29-year-old, who bowled two overs and made 11 with the bat during the Notts Outlaws' eight-run Natwest T20 Blast semi-final defeat to Northamptonshire Steelbacks at Edgbaston yesterday (20 August).

"Australia is one of my favourite places to play, the pitches and the crowds make for great cricket and the atmosphere is fantastic. It has been really good to have Hurricanes teammate Dan Christian playing with me at Notts who has been really positive about the Hobart Hurricanes and also the city of Hobart which I'm looking forward to embracing."

The Hurricanes, beaten finalists in 2014, finished seventh in the BBL last season with three wins and five defeats from their eight matches. Coach Damien Wright is excited by the addition of Broad, who joins veteran Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara as an overseas player.

"Stuart Broad has an incredible record in all three formats and his knowledge of the game overall will be a huge asset for our bowling group going forward," he said. "He will give us great firepower with the ball and will be a fantastic inclusion into our pace attack joining [Shaun] Tait, [Jake] Reed and [Sam] Rainbird.

"We now have two of the biggest names in our game playing for the Hobart Hurricanes and our members and fans should be extremely excited for BBL|06. It was key to find someone who could contribute in a big way with the ball and we believe we've signed one of the very best to do this. He is a terrific fella who is determined to do well throughout the Big Bash as well as seeing this as a great opportunity to put himself back in contention for England in the shorter formats of the game."