Thursday 19 March 2015 13:45, UK
Dimitri Mascarenhas has put back his impending retirement to play for the Hobart Hurricanes in Australia's Big Bash tournament.
All-rounder Mascarenhas, who captained Hampshire's Twenty20 team in 2013, had announced his intention to retire at the end of the county season.
The 35-year-old did leave the door open to continue in the short format of the game and has now been lured back to Australia, where he was born, to play for the Tasmanian franchise as a domestic player.
"I'm very excited about joining the Hurricanes this year, and looking forward to playing a huge part in a successful campaign," said Mascarenhas, who still holds an Australian passport.
Mascarenhas made 34 limited overs appearances for England and was part of the Hampshire squad that reached the past four Friends Life t20 finals day, captaining them to victory last year.
Hurricanes general manager Andrew Dykes is delighted with what he sees as a 'massive coup' signing, and he said: "We are very fortunate to secure Dimitri's signature for BBL 03.
"There were a lot of teams that expressed serious interest in signing Dimi, and we're very happy that he chose to come to Blundstone Arena."
