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[Saba Sports News] Lancashire has secured New Zealand batter Tom Bruce for the upcoming domestic season, following their first overseas signing, Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon. Bruce, 32, will be available for all formats throughout the season. With a strong track record in T20Is and first-class cricket, Bruce boasts impressive stats including a first-class average of 49.85 and a strike rate of 65.91. Despite a modest List A average, his leadership skills were evident when he led New Zealand A to victory against Australia in September 2023.
Bruce’s addition is pivotal for Lancashire, especially with Dane Vilas’ absence. Mark Chilton, Lancashire’s director of cricket performance, highlighted Bruce’s full season availability and experience as key factors in his signing. Bruce is expected to enhance the middle order in the County Championship and add power to the batting line-up in white-ball tournaments.
“Tom will be available throughout the 2024 season, and this was a big draw for myself and Dale [Benkenstein] when going into the market for our overseas signings for this year. This will allow Tom to settle in, become part of the squad and create consistency and stability in our team selections throughout the summer,” Chilton shared.
“Tom is a hugely experienced cricketer, and we feel that his skillset will be a good fit within our squad. He has had a hugely impressive few years with the bat in domestic cricket over in New Zealand – with an outstanding record in both the Plunkett Shield and Super Smash competitions as well as for New Zealand A and is very close to full international selection. With the ICC T20 World Cup taking place in June and July this year at the same time as the Vitality Blast, the availability of overseas options is at a premium. Therefore, Tom’s quality, experience and full season availability makes him a strong addition to the squad,” he added.
“We believe that Tom will offer us a lot of options as he strengthens our middle order in the County Championship whilst his powerful hitting will give our batting line-up a new dimension towards the backend of an innings in the Vitality Blast and Metro Bank One Day Cup.”
Expressing his enthusiasm, Bruce views playing for Lancashire as a dream come true and is eager to contribute to the team’s success in 2024. Lancashire, finishing mid-table in the County Championship Division One in 2023, aims for improved performance under the new head coach Dale Benkenstein, who replaced Glenn Chapple in the off-season.