Andrew ‘AJ’ Tye has more or less shut the door on the Big Bash. The 39-year-old seamer, owner of a British passport thanks to his parents, has committed to Yorkshire for the next two Vitality Blast campaigns as a locally registered player. That status effectively ends a glittering BBL run stretching back to 2014.
Those numbers are weighty: 162 wickets, an economy a shade over eight, four titles with Perth Scorchers. Only Sean Abbott sits above him on the BBL wicket list. But after swapping west coast for Melbourne Renegades this season – two games, one wicket – the writing felt on the wall. “Having known that my opportunities were starting to dry up a little bit… it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” he told Fox Cricket before Thursday’s match at Marvel Stadium. “I tried to find one last year but nothing really came about.”
Instead, his slower-ball craft now heads to Headingley. Yorkshire have spent the winter hunting for hardened T20 know-how to guide a youthful squad. Tye should tick that box, armed with dip-laden yorkers and the knuckleball that once flummoxed international batters.
“It’s a real privilege to be signing for Yorkshire,” he said. “There is a proud tradition of Australian cricketers at Yorkshire and I’m excited to add to this and get amongst it with the guys. I know I can add some real depth of experience to the side. The Blast is a great tournament to be involved in, and I know how important it is to a side like Yorkshire to be in the mix to win it.”
There is a personal pull, too. “To be able to have that opportunity to take my family over there, have them experience England, see a lot of our family — both my parents are English — so there’s a lot of family there,” he added. “It’s a good way for the family to know our little girls, so it made a lot of sense to me.”
Gavin Hamilton, Yorkshire’s general manager of cricket, believes the move can knit promise to pedigree. “AJ is a brilliant signing for us and furthers our aim of complementing the youth of our core squad with proven T20 know-how and experience… AJ’s variations make him a very dangerous player, and he will be a key voice in helping the development of our squad accelerate even further.”
It follows Jake Lehmann’s similar switch to Hampshire last month. For Tye, this is not a retirement lap but a fresh two-season gig. Yorkshire, striving to move on from bruising off-field headlines, hope it proves the perfect fit.
