Hard-hitting Ross getting no favours from Cutting

Australian cricketer Alex Ross has just come to the BPL after playing the Big Bash League with Sydney Thunder. While he played alongside David Warner and Alex Hales in the Big Bash on January 14, franchise cricket's demand brought him to Bangladesh for the first time yesterday, and he will have to quickly adjust to new conditions and gel with new teammates.

Known as a hard-hitting middle-order batter, Ross was excited to be coming to the BPL to play for Durdanto Dhaka.

"Very excited. It all happened really quickly for me but yeah really excited to be part of it. I have watched it a little bit on TV and watched the game the other night from the flight and the boys played really well, so I am excited to join the team now," Ross told reporters on Sunday.

Wickets have a sticky nature in the BPL due to weather conditions at this time of the year. Australia national team also struggled in Bangladesh, losing 4-1 in a T20 series in 2021. Ross suggested that wickets in Australia, too, have not always been very batting friendly.

"We actually had some poor wickets for batting in the Big Bash this year. So we got a little bit of experience with the ball spinning, little bit slower too. It's not so different as it appears on TV sometimes," he said.

While the likes of Warner, Steve Smith and Shane Watson have played in the BPL in the past, there have not been too many top-tier Australian cricketers that have come to play in Bangladesh's franchise cricket.

Alex Ross having a conversation with Durdanto Dhaka coach Khaled Mahmud Sujon. Photo: Firoz Ahmed

Asked about the reason for lack of Australians in BPL, Ross said: "There are a couple of reasons. The guys play state cricket so they play for New South Wales, Victoria and they aren't allowed out of the country so much because then they are playing four-day cricket or one-day outside of Big Bash League. They won't receive NOCs, so if I had played state cricket, I would just play Big Bash cricket."

Ben Cutting, another Australian is in this BPL with the Sylhet Strikers. Asked if Ross received any tips from his compatriot, the batter joked: "No tips. He said there's a couple of nice restaurants here and a good steak at the Crowne Plaza here last night. Nothing so much on the cricket yet. He is probably telling me the wrong tips."