Western Australia coach Justin Langer has revealed his delight at Simon Katich’s return to their set-up. The experienced left-hander has agreed to play the last four of six Ryobi Cup group matches for the Warriors during the next fortnight.
Katich, 38-years-old, has been named in Langer’s 16-man squad for their campaign having last played for his home state in March 2002 before a move to New South Wales.
He has been playing for Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League for the last two years, but he retired from all other forms of Australian domestic cricket in June of last year.
Katich has since been playing county cricket in England, topping 1,000 County Championship runs for Lancashire in the most recent campaign as the Red Rose side earned promotion. They are open to him returning in 2014, although no decision has been made.
Simon Katich will return to the WA side to boost their Ryobi Cup campaign (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
His first appearance back in a Warriors shirt should be against Victoria at North Sydney Oval next Tuesday.
“We’ve got a great opportunity with Simon Katich here to provide some real leadership for the group,” said Langer.
“He has agreed to play the final four matches of the RYOBI Cup, which presents a fantastic opportunity for our young guys to rub shoulders with and learn off someone with his experience and knowledge of the game.
“We’ve seen the example of Ricky Ponting at state level, and we hope Kat can have a similar impact on our group.”
Langer has also asked Katich, who has been offered a job on the welfare programme at Australian Rules club Greater Western Sydney, to play Sheffield Shield cricket for the state this summer.
WA open their campaign against Queensland on Friday.
James Buttler
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