Sam Hain earns Big Bash deal with Brisbane Heat

Warwickshire batter Hain grew up in Queensland before moving to the United Kingdom as a teenager; he has signed for Brisbane as a replacement overseas player

Sam Hain's consistency in English domestic white-ball cricket for Warwickshire has been rewarded with a Big Bash deal at Brisbane Heat, close to where he grew up on the Gold Coast.

Hain, arguably the most unfortunate of a raft of players who would undoubtedly have earned international recognition in a previous era, has an exemplary limited-over record, particularly in List A cricket, where he holds the world's highest batting average.

With experience in The Hundred with both Manchester Originals and Welsh Fire, Hain has joined as an international replacement player and is expected to fill in for one of Sam Billings or Colin Munro, who are due to represent Brisbane until early January.

"It's been a few years since I have been back to Queensland, so I've enjoyed revisiting a lot of the places I remember from growing up," said Hain, whose parents are British.

He played for Queensland and Australia at youth level before moving to England. In 2014, he hit four first-class hundreds as a teenager.

Hain, who will be playing overseas T20 cricket for the first tie, would have been part of the England Lions training camp to the United Arab Emirates in November had it not been for a hamstring problem picked up during the last County Championship match of the season.

^{Hain represented Australia at youth level (Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)}

Among his new Brisbane Heat teammates are several players – including Marnus Labuschagne and Mitchell Swepson – with whom he played while growing up in Australia.

Heat head coach Wade Seccombe also coached Hain in the Queensland Under-19s setup that claimed the national title in 2011/12.

"Sam was a very talented young player and I know a lot of us at QC were sorry to see him go when he made his call to pursue his options in England," said Seccombe.

"It will be a great fit to have him back in the group. His playing experience is excellent, especially as a white-ball player who knows how to control an innings and make good decisions in the middle.

"He'll have plenty of time to prepare for his playing stint in the back half of the tournament when Sam and Colin depart, and we’re really happy to have him working with the squad during the next month or so."

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