SA20: MI Cape Town pick Henry Brookes in place of Olly Stone for 2023 season

Mumbai, Jan 30 (SocialNews.XYZ) MI Cape Town have signed England fast bowler Henry Brookes for the 2023 edition of the SA20, South Africa's franchise-basked domestic T20 tournament, replacing compatriot Olly Stone in the squad.

The 6 foot 3 inches Brookes, who plays across formats, has played 37 T20 37 matches picking 46 wickets with the best bowling figures of 5-25 and has been touted as one with potential in English cricket.

"Lightning-quick, all ours -- Hello, Henry! This English quick in blue-and-gold," MI Cape Town announced in a tweet on Monday.

He replaces Olly Stone, who is unavailable. Stone was signed to form a pace bowling troika with Kagiso Rabada and Jofra Archer.

Stone is on a comeback from a last-resort back operation to keep alive his hopes of playing in the Ashes. He was in and is hoping to play in next month's two-Test series against New Zealand. Stone had last played in a Test in June 2021 during which he suffered a fourth stress fracture of the back.

He was forced to undergo a "last resort" operation with the hope of saving his Test career. Stone had two screws inserted into his lower spine and appears to have recovered well, making his England return in the shorter formats late last year.

The 23-year-old Brookes is a right-arm fast bowler who has had a rapid rise with the England Lions and has done well for Warwickshire in the T20 Blast and Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred. In August 2022, he bagged his first five-wicket haul in The Hundred for Birmingham Phoenix against Southern Brave.

He played for Delhi Bulls in the 2022 edition of the Abu Dhabi T10 and was picked by MI Cape Town in the player auction.

Right now, the SA20 is in the middle of a week-long break. MI Cape Town are currently ranked fifth on the points table in the six-team league, with three wins and four losses.

Source: IANS