English international joins Knights

Northern Districts have signed a second overseas pace bowler for this summer’s Twenty20 competition, with England international Chris Jordan joining veteran Australian Ben Laughlin for the Super Smash, which gets underway later this week.

Jordan will join the Knights’ ranks in time for their third match (against the Wellington Firebirds at the Basin Reserve next Wednesday), with the Barbados-born 29-year-old to add some zip to the attack and provide an effective death bowling option.

The right-armer’s stint here coincides with his likely trip down under in the new year as part of England’s Twenty20 team for a tri-series in Australia and New Zealand in January.

Having also played eight test matches (between 2014 and 2015), and 31 ODIs (2013-2016), Jordan’s international career is now in the T20 format, where he’s featured 26 times for his country, playing in their most recent outing, at home against the West Indies in September.

Jordan has also featured in the Big Bash League and the Indian Premier League, and has just been involved in the Bangladesh Premier League too. Across his 99 T20s he has a bowling average of 25.53, with an economy rate of 8.50 and a strike rate of 18.

Knights chief executive Ben MacCormack was delighted to have a player of Jordan’s calibre on board.

Jordan’s signing comes on the back of last week’s announcement that Laughlin would be wearing the pink uniform for a fifth season.

The 35-year-old right-armer joined the team last Wednesday and will turn out for the Knights’ first two matches against the Firebirds in Hamilton on Friday night and the Auckland Aces in Mt Maunganui on Saturday night before linking up with the Adelaide Strikers again for the BBL.