Dan Christian has reversed his retirement and is playing for the injury-hit Sydney Thunder in the ongoing Big Bash League, his first professional outing in over two years.
The 41-year-old last played a professional game when he represented the Sydney Sixers in the 2022/23 BBL. Christian announced his retirement following the season and has since been serving as Sydney Thunder’s assistant coach in the tournament.
His retirement reversal comes on the back of injuries to Daniel Sams and Cameron Bancroft, both of whom have been sidelined due to a horrific on-field collision last week. While Sams incurred a concussion, Bancroft also has a fractured shoulder blade and a broken nose after the freak incident. Thunder are also without injured players Jason Sangha, Nic Massinson and Tanveer Sangha for the season. The Thunder are also likely to be without Sam Konstas (international commitments), Sherfane Rutherford and Lockie Ferguson (ILT20 duties) as the edition progresses.
Dan Christian: My body feels great
"I made the decision during the off season that a return to the BBL or any other T20 leagues was never entirely off the table for me," Christian said. "The body feels great, and I wanted to ensure I was prepared if an opportunity arose.
"The incident with Cam Bancroft and Dan Sams was extremely unfortunate, but I'm really grateful for the opportunity it's presented. I wish them all the best with their recoveries and hope they'll be back on the park soon."
His comeback was against Brisbane Heat on Monday (January 6), when he walked out to bat at No.8 after the Thunder were sent in to bat first. He started cautiously, scoring six in his first seven balls before racing away to 20 in 11 deliveries with the help of two sixes in Xavier Bartlett’s over, which included a 92-metre hit. He was unbeaten on 23 off 15, scoring at a strike rate of 153.33, helping Thunder finish at 173-8 after they had slumped to 129-7 in the 16th over.
Christian had an illustrious career as a globe-trotter in different T20 leagues, playing 409 matches in a career spanning 17 years. He represented 19 teams - Thunder being his 20th side - scoring 5,828 runs with a strike rate of 137.68. He also picked up 280 scalps at an average of 28.90.
Christian also represented Australia in 43 international games, including 23 T20Is, making 118 runs and scalping 13 wickets.
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