Ollie Davies of the Sydney Thunder called it “fantastic” that his 19-year-old brother Joel, who is also a big-hitting batter, chose the Thunder over the Sixers.
Joel Davies joins Sydney Thunders
Joel Davies lit up the recent under-19 National Championships in Adelaide, guiding NSW Metro to its fourth championship since the state was divided into Metro and Country. He scored 458 runs in six matches at a fantastic average of 114.5 to finish as the top run scorer. While he was out for a golden duck in the final, JOEL DAVIES hit 50 in each of his previous five innings, including back-to-back hundreds in the qualifying and preliminary finals.
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Indeed, his best achievement was hitting 11 sixes on his way to an unbroken 185 against the Northern Territory – the same opponents Ollie smashed 17 sixes on his way to a double century four years earlier. It’s wonderful to have Joel here,” JOEL DAVIES remarked ahead of tomorrow night’s encounter between the Sydney Thunder and the Brisbane Heat in Sydney. Initially, I believed he might’ve been enticed to join the Sixers, but I got into his ear about playing for Sydney Thunder.
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After a really successful competition in Adelaide, I believe he has done enough to deserve his position in the team. Joel is an eager man who will do everything for the team, whether it’s bringing out the beverages or doing the behind-the-scenes work that often goes unnoticed. He can bat and bowl in addition to being the finest fielder I’ve ever seen. He brings everything to the table. However, Davies, who boasts a BBL strike rate of 144.97 from 19 games, claimed he made a personal pitch to Joel to choose Thunder’s green battle colors when picking which BBL team to join.
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I just told him, ‘I want you to be with me; you could go to the Sixers or Thunder, but I’m engaged with Thunder, and I want you to go with me and work with me,'” Davies said. However, after a game of backyard cricket on Boxing Day, Davies realized that just while they’re now teammates with Thunder, they’re still sibling rivals. He was bowling quite quickly, despite the fact that he bowls off-spin, and I was afraid of being struck by the tennis ball!” Ollie, the proud big brother, chuckled.
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Thunder CEO Andrew Gilchrist said that the team has selected Joel Davies as a priority signing. Joel’s results in the under-19 Championships proved he was a fantastic talent, and we know he comes from a solid family via Ollie,” Gilchrist added. “We’re thrilled to have him on our team. Meanwhile, Pakistan leg spin bowler Usman Qadir, who was brought in to replace the injured Tanveer Sangha, is set to make his Sydney Thunder debut against the Brisbane Heat.
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Qadir is no stranger to Australian conditions, having competed in the 2012 U19 World Cup in Queensland and then playing grade cricket in Sydney and Adelaide before suiting up for both Western Australia and the Perth Scorchers for the 2018-19 season. In 2018, he shone in a PM’s XI one-day match against South Africa, taking 3-28. He had planned to obtain Australian citizenship and pursue an international career that way.
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At the insistence of his father, he eventually returned to Pakistan and abandoned his Australian goals, and a call-up for Pakistan followed – ironically for a tour to Australia. Qadir has now played 23 T20s and one ODI for Pakistan, albeit a thumb injury kept him out of the latest T20 World Cup as a reserve.
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