Australian all-rounder Daniel Sams has agreed to join an English club for the upcoming season of the Vitality T20 Blast.
Recently competing for the Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia, Sams will return to play with Essex and is understood to be available for the first eight games between May and June.
He is also a former international representative for Australia playing ten T20I games.
Although he has previously represented the country and played in 2022, it is unlikely that he will be chosen in the T20 World Cup squad, but he is only available for the first half of the season as it clashes with the Major League Cricket (MLC) competition.
"I'm really excited to be heading back to Essex, especially after the year we had in 2023," Sams said in a club statement.
"Chelmsford is a great ground, filled with really passionate fans, and you feel that energy from the stands when they're packed out under the floodlights.
"I loved being able to contribute to the success we had last season, and the team, in my opinion, is good enough to have a strong chance of going one better and lifting some silverware."
Aged 31, this will mark the third consecutive season that Sams will play with Essex in the T20 Blast and helped guide the team to runners-up last season and won the Blast MVP award.
"We're obviously delighted to have re-signed Daniel for the Blast this year," Essex's head coach, Anthony McGrath, said.
"He showed us in no uncertain terms what he's capable of last summer, and he was an instrumental part of our team, so we're looking forward to seeing him again for the first block of T20 games."
