Lancashire sign Chris Green for the Vitality Blast
Lancashire Cricket is delighted to announce the overseas signing of Australian spin bowling all-rounder Chris Green for this summer’s Vitality Blast.
Green will represent Lancashire Lightning for the duration of the Vitality Blast group stage after Nathan Lyon saw his overseas spell reduced by Cricket Australia to include only red ball cricket.
30-year-old Green has a strong pedigree in T20 cricket and has featured in some of the world’s leading T20 leagues including the Big Bash League (BBL) with Sydney Thunder, the Caribbean Premier League, the Indian Premier League with Kolkata Knight Riders, the Pakistan Super League and in the Vitality Blast with Birmingham Bears and Middlesex.
In T20 cricket, he has 164 wickets to his name from 200 career appearances and a top score with the bat of 50 – he was also appointed captain of Sydney Thunder ahead of last year’s edition of the BBL.
Across three seasons in the Vitality Blast with Birmingham Bears (2019) and Middlesex (2021 and 2022) Green has made 27 appearances in the competition, taking 29 wickets, and scoring 324 runs. In 2021, he claimed a hat-trick against Kent Spitfires and finished with career best figures of 5 for 32.
Green also made his T20 International debut for Australia against India in Raipur in December 2023.
Director of Cricket Performance Mark Chilton said: “Following the news that Nathan would no longer be available to play T20 for us, Dale and I were really keen to ensure that when going back into the market for an overseas replacement, they would have full availability across both group stage blocks in the Blast which we believe is important to get some continuity in the team.
“The attraction with Chris was his full availability combined with his skillset - which is the ability to bowl spin across all phases of the game - and also his batting as Chris has become really effective towards the back end of an innings, an area in which we felt the team could do with a bit of strength.
“Chris is also a really experienced campaigner, captain of Sydney Thunder in the BBL, and at times we may field a young T20 side this year so adding experience in that format will be a real help for us.”
Speaking after signing for Lancashire, Chris Green commented: “I am really pleased be joining Lancashire for this year’s Vitality Blast and can’t wait to meet up with my new teammates next month.
“It’s a really strong squad at Lancashire and after speaking with Mark Chilton and Dale Benkenstein ahead of signing, I am really excited about what we can achieve together this summer.
“I have really enjoyed my previous experiences of playing in the Blast in England and I am looking forward to heading to Manchester and playing at Emirates Old Trafford for the first time.”