Durham's Ben Stokes joins Melbourne Renegades in Big Bash

England all-rounder Ben Stokes will play for Melbourne Renegades in the Australian Big Bash League, replacing the injured Jesse Ryder. Stokes, 26, who plays his county cricket for Durham, is one of eight England-qualified players signed up for the Twenty20 competition. New Zealand batsman Ryder has been ruled out with a back injury. “I'm excited about coming to Melbourne for the second half of the season,” Stokes told his new team's website.

It was great to see them get their first win on the board last Tuesday and I'm looking forward to the upcoming matches so we can build on that result and hopefully drive the team towards finals success.” Renegades coach Simon Helmot added: “Ben is a quality player and was recognised by many as one of the shining lights during England's difficult tour of Australia last year.” Melbourne are fifth in the table after three of their eight group matches. The top four sides in the eight-team league will qualify for the semi-finals, with the final in Canberra on 28 January.

England-qualified players in the Big Bash

Andrew Flintoff
Alex Hales
Luke Wright
Kevin Pietersen
Michael Carberry
Michael Lumb
Eoin Morgan