Adam Zampa joins Hobart Hurricanes in pursuit of Big Bash title

Adam Zampa is on the move again. Another set of colours, another fan base, another crack at the one domestic title that keeps slipping through his fingers.

The 34-year-old leg-spinner will join the Hobart Hurricanes on a two-year deal from BBL16, as reported by SEN’s Tom Morris, making the Tasmanian club his fifth Big Bash home. For a bowler who has helped Australia win both the T20 World Cup in 2021 and the ODI World Cup in 2023, it remains one of the quirks of the modern game that he has never lifted the BBL trophy.

Zampa chases elusive Big Bash crown

Zampa’s career in the Big Bash reads like a tour of the competition’s map. He started at Sydney Thunder, shifted to Adelaide Strikers for BBL03, then settled into a long eight-season stretch with the Melbourne Stars. Those years brought three finals — 2015/16, 2018/19 and 2019/20 — but each time the title slipped away. A surprise switch to crosstown rivals Melbourne Renegades followed, where he has spent the last three seasons.

Now comes Hobart.

The Hurricanes are not starting from scratch. They finished third in BBL15, backing up their maiden title defence the season before, and are building like a side that expects to stay in the conversation deep into January. Zampa’s arrival underlines that intent. He brings more than just wickets: he brings experience of 14 out of 15 BBL seasons, a calm hand in the middle overs, and the kind of tactical nous that only comes from a decade of bowling at the best hitters in the world.

The timing suits both player and club. Australia’s international schedule clears from December 2026 to February 2027, with no limited-overs cricket as the Test side faces New Zealand at home and then heads to India for a five-Test epic. Zampa is set to be available for the entire Big Bash window, a luxury the Hurricanes will not take lightly.

He has moved states domestically as well, leaving New South Wales to sign with Queensland for the coming summer, a shift that had him strongly linked with the Brisbane Heat. Instead, the Hurricanes have swooped. For a bowler who has spent much of his career in green, red and teal, purple now beckons — along with another shot at the one line missing from his BBL résumé.

Perth Scorchers turn to England again

On the other side of the country, another leg-spinner is packing his bags for Australia.

Calvin Harrison, the England tweaker who has quietly become one of his country’s most reliable T20 operators, has signed with the Perth Scorchers. His move came just hours after Adelaide Strikers unveiled Ben Stokes as their marquee signing, confirming that English influence will again run deep through the Big Bash summer.

Harrison’s name might not yet carry the weight of Stokes, but his numbers demand attention. The 28-year-old has taken 97 wickets at 22.28 across 99 T20 matches, and he added 10 wickets at 19.7 in this year’s Hundred. Those are the figures of a bowler who knows his craft and trusts it under pressure.

His route to Perth has been anything but straightforward. Born in South Africa, raised in New Zealand, he joined Somerset’s Academy as a teenager and climbed steadily through the English system. Now comes his first professional stint outside England, and it arrives at one of T20 cricket’s most ruthless finishing schools.

The Scorchers have long had a soft spot for English talent. Matt Hurst, Keaton Jennings, Zak Crawley, David Payne, Stephen Eskinazi, Adam Lyth, Tymal Mills, Laurie Evans, Jason Roy, Joe Clarke, Liam Livingstone, Chris Jordan, Tim Bresnan, Ian Bell, David Willey, Michael Carberry and Paul Collingwood have all worn the orange. Harrison steps into a lineage of overseas players who are expected not just to contribute, but to shape title pushes.

Perth, six-time BBL champions, do not sign projects. They sign pieces. Harrison arrives as another weapon in a spin attack designed to strangle opponents on big grounds and hard decks, while Zampa heads to Hobart as the missing ingredient for a side desperate to turn contention into dominance.

Two leg-spinners. Two new homes. One Big Bash summer that suddenly looks a lot more interesting.