HE was very nearly a Renegade, he came close to experiencing a Scorcher and being Thunder-struck, but now Bathurst cricketer Jono Dean is poised to become a Striker.
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This week it was announced that Dean has signed a contract with the Adelaide Strikers for the 2013-14 Big Bash League – a now annual Australian Twenty20 competition which involves not only the best domestic exponents of the short format game, but a handful of international stars as well.
It is a massive moment in Dean’s career as he finally looks poised to take the next step up from skippering the ACT Comets in the Futures League.
He knows there is still a difference between signing a contract and actually becoming entrenched in the starting 11, but his goal is now within reach. The opportunity comes after he was placed on the Melbourne Renegades’ supplementary list last season and in the past attracted interest from the Sydney Thunder and Perth Scorchers.
“I have had one foot in the door for the past couple of years, I just couldn’t get the other one in, so I really want to get stuck in and get going and make sure I take this opportunity,” the 29-year-old said.
“It is going to be different, but it is a massive opportunity for me, so I can’t wait to get down there.
“Now it has been announced I can work on what is required of me, I think the squad gets together in December, but I have been training pretty hard in the gym and I will keep plugging away and doing that until then.”
Dean has tested himself against some of the globe’s finest Twenty20 players in the past as part of Prime Minister’s XV outfits – hitting 51 from 40 balls against the West Indies earlier this year – and his Comets side, with the Strikers he has the chance to do so on a regular basis.
The Strikers side which placed fifth in last year’s Big Bash League includes men who have represented Australia such as Phil Hughes, Callum Ferguson and Andrew McDonald and is captained by South African Johan Botha.
Alex Hales, who last season smashed a Steven O’Keefe delivery a whopping 111 metres, is another Dean could play alongside.
“Alex Hales, who is England’s T20 opening batsman, has been given a contract. He’s a player who hits the ball a long way, so I will try to learn as much as possible off him,” Dean said. “I am looking forward to getting down there, they have really got an incredible system and it’s a big opportunity for me.
“There has been a few things in the works and I had a few things with other franchises, but for me Adelaide was the best option because they could promise me a specific role.
“Obviously I need to perform to get in the side, there is still a lot of work to do, but if I do they have that specific role for me which is to go pretty hard at the top of the order.
“That is pretty much my natural game anyway, so that won’t trouble me too much.”
Since leaving Bathurst Dean has gone on to play club cricket for Queanbeyan, the opening batsman hitting an unbeaten 300 last summer for them in the Canberra grade competition.
He has also consistently been one of the leading run scorers for the Comets, but he knows he still has a lot to learn about the game. In fact the chance to learn is part of what excites him about the Adelaide move.
“Darren Berry is the coach, I think he’s one of the hard nuts of cricket and I really can’t wait to get down there and pick his brain and learn more about Twenty20,” he said. “I have a chance, I just have to grab it now, the job’s not done yet.”
The Adelaide Strikers’ first match will be against the Hobart Hurricanes on December 22.