Harry Dixon, one of Australian cricket’s rising stars, has signed a maiden Big Bash League contract with the Melbourne Renegades, penning a two-year deal with the franchise ahead of the 13th edition of the T20 tournament.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Renegades confirmed the 18-year-old Victorian, currently representing Australia Under-19s in England, had committed to the club through to 2025.
“I’ve always wanted to play in the Big Bash and it’s great to be joining a squad with some of the biggest names in Australia,” Dixon said in a statement.
“I can’t wait to share a locker room with guys like Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh, Nic Maddinson and Nathan Lyon. I’m looking forward to getting into it, learning as much as I can and becoming the best player I can.”
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Dixon, a St Kilda Cricket Club product, made headlines last week after smacking 167 in the first four-day contest against England Under-19s at Worcester’s New Road.
Facing the swinging Dukes ball in overcast conditions, the left-hander reached his century in just 109 deliveries, occupying the crease for five and a half hours to give the tourists a 174-run lead in the first innings.
Dixon cracked 30 boundaries and two sixes during his 209-ball knock, backing it up with a blistering 83 (52) in the second innings as the Australians claimed an eight-wicket victory.
“He’s a wonderful ball-striker,” former Australian all-rounder Daniel Christian, currently mentoring the Under-19 Australian team in England, told Fox Cricket.
“He’s got a wonderful ability to go up and down the gears. We saw that in the four-dayer where at different stages he’d go quite hard and take the bowlers down. But then he’s able to wind it back and defend when he needs to … that was a real highlight of that first innings, he was really impressive.
“Then in the second innings, it was like he and (opening partner) Sam Konstas were having a competition with each other to see who could hit the biggest six. It was extraordinary batting. They were hitting it whenever they wanted.”
Dixon, who represented Vic Metro in the national Under-19 championships, made his first-grade debut for St Kilda as a 16-year-old in the 2021/22 summer. He scored his maiden Premier Cricket century earlier this year before belting 148 (125) in a one-day contest against England’s Under-19 side in Brisbane.
“That certainly seems to be the way the game is these days,” Christian continued.
“Opening batters are coming out and putting the bowling teams under a lot more pressure from ball one rather than just hanging around. Harry’s that kind of player.”
The Renegades get their BBL campaign underway against the Sydney Sixers at the SCG on December 8.
