Australian fast-bowler –Billy Stanlake has been signed up by the Yorkshire County Cricket Club for the Vitality T20 Blast, confirmed the Club on Wednesday (21 February).

The lanky fast bowler will play a minimum of 12 matches or more for Yorkshire in the tournament if he will not select for Australia's doubtful limited-overs tour of Zimbabwe in August.

Martyn Moxon –Yorkshire’s Director of Cricket, told yorkshireccc.com, “He's someone I noticed when I went out to see Dizzy (Jason Gillespie) in the Big Bash. He's a tall, fast-bowler with pace and is a wicket-taking option for us. Obviously, since then he has progressed to being a full international T20 cricketer so we're really excited about him joining up with us.”

Moxon further added, “The pace and bounce he gets really stood out for me and he's a genuine wicket-taker which is just as important as keeping the runs down in one-day cricket. He's something different for us and particularly with David Willey and Liam Plunkett not available for the first period of T20, assuming they're playing for England, he's a nice fit for us.”

Meanwhile, Stanlake, who was part of the victorious Adelaide Strikers in the BBL, as well as, Australia's squad in the recent Trans-Tasman T20 Tri-Series, said of his signing with Yorkshire, “I'm really excited about heading over to England and representing Yorkshire Vikings in the domestic T20 competition. It'll be a great experience and hopefully an exciting few weeks. It's a huge club with great history and tradition and I've only heard positive things from the guys who have been there in the past.”

Stanlake signed off by saying, “For me, it's about building pressure and taking wickets, and hopefully that will go some way towards contributing to success for the team. I'm really enjoying my cricket at the moment, the body feels in a good place too and hopefully I enjoy a productive spell with the Vikings in July.”