Hurricanes give Ellis a parting gift

ELECTRIC paceman Nathan Ellis heads to the IPL on Wednesday with a farewell gift from the Hobart Hurricanes – a two-season contract extension booking him a ticket on the Cane Train until 2023.

Ellis, 26, made his international debut for Australia in Dhaka against Bangladesh on August 6, after heading overseas with the national squad as its travelling reserve.

Not only did he take a wicket in his first match, Ellis made history by becoming the first men’s player to take a hat-trick on his T20 International debut.

Following his stunning debut in Australian colours, Ellis was rewarded with a contract with the Punjab Kings for the re-start of the Indian Premier League – arguably the world’s most lucrative T20 franchise league – in the United Arab Emirates.

After the IPL, Ellis will stay in the UAE and join the Australian men’s T20 World Cup team, after being named as a travelling reserve for the 2021 edition of the tournament.

“It has been a whirlwind couple of months _–it’s been a whirlwind few years really,” Ellis said.

“I’m really excited to announce the extension of my contract with the Hurricanes before heading back overseas again.

“Looking back at the past few years and how I’ve progressed, there’s certainly been a lot of hard work involved along the way.

“I’m also very thankful to ‘Griff’ [Hurricanes head coach, Adam Griffith] and the Hurricanes for giving me that first chance back in 2018.

“I don’t really think I’d be in the position I am if it wasn’t for that.”

After taking the plunge and moving to Tasmania in 2017 – without a contract to his name but a home at Cricket Tasmania Premier League club, Lindisfarne – Ellis’ risk and hard work paid off.

He made his Hurricanes debut against the Lahore Qalandars at the Abu Dhabi T20 Trophy in the UAE _ a warm-up tournament the Hurricanes contested in the lead-up to BBL|08.

From there, the milestones continued to tumble. Season 2019-20 saw Ellis secure his first full contracts with both the Hurricanes and the Tasmanian Tigers, making his Big Bash, First Class and List A debuts all in the same season.

In the BBL|10 season he played all 14 Hurricanes matches, taking 20 wickets.