South African batsman David Miller has been signed by the Big Bash League (BBL) franchise Hobart Hurricanes for the upcoming season. He will be available to play all 14 home and away games before returning to play for the Proteas against England.

The franchise confirmed the development through a statement on Wednesday.

Miller now joins Afghan Qais Ahmad as the club's second overseas signing for BBL Season 9. With nearly 300 T20 games under his belt, Miller will be expected to stand up when Matthew Wade and possibly D'Arcy Short and Ben McDermott are picked for Australia internationals.

“It's very exciting to welcome a player of David's calibre to the Hurricanes,” said Cricket Tasmania CEO Nick Cummins.

“We've built a reputation as a destination club amongst internationals, and we are confident David's hard-hitting batting will give our members and fans great entertainment, and possibly a few opportunities to catch a six!

“We expect to lose some batting experience throughout the season, so David will provide valuable runs in our drive to our third successive finals campaign,” Cummins said.

Miller is well known to Tasmanian cricket fans with Hobart a happy hunting ground. In 2018 he belted 139 off 108 balls at Blundstone Arena as he and Faf du Plessis guided South Africa to victory against Australia in a 252 run stand.

The Hobart Hurricanes will kick off their campaign on December 20 against the Sydney Sixers.