Albany franchise to unleash Fury in second instalment of Southern Smash tournament

Albany Finance Fury were announced last week as the fifth franchise to play in the exciting second edition of the Plunkett Homes Southern Smash.

Regional WA’s premier Twenty20 tournament is gaining plenty of momentum and is attracting some of the best players in the State to Albany on December 28 and 29.

Former Zimbabwean Test batsman Neil Ferreira will captain the new team and has announced his three other initial signings.

Michael Ferreira qualifies as the local player for the Fury, while former Albany resident Harry Crane will also pull on the new colours.

The young Ferreira has begun the new WACA premier season playing as an all-rounder in Midland Guildford’s first-grade team, while Crane has taken four wickets in three first-grade matches for Claremont-Nedlands.

The duo will be joined by Australian under-19 representative Sam Fanning, who scored a century against Sri Lanka and was part of the 2020 U19 World Cup team.

The WA rookie-listed batsman plays first-grade cricket for Perth and scored 102 against Mt Lawley in round three this season.

Neil Ferreira said he was excited to be involved in the rapidly growing Smash.

“I’m a bit disappointed I missed the chance to play last year,” he said.

“I think Albany and Districts Cricket Association have done a fantastic job of getting this up and going and increasing it from four teams to six teams and they have been proactive in getting people down from Perth to make it big spectacle.

“We have a few old guys and few young guys, so we are going to mix it together and fight like anything to do our best and I’m sure we all want to try and win.”

Former Hong Kong international coach Charlie Burke will take the role as head coach of the Fury in their first season.

Burke took Hong Kong from 26th to No.10 in world rankings and qualified them for two T20 World Cups.

“It is great to have an international coach; there is not many teams that will have that,” Ferreira said.

“I’m sure everyone will value even if it’s just him talking to some of the youngsters we have and giving a few tips.”

Albany Finance Fury

Neil Ferreira — Captain

Sam Fanning — Marquee

Harry Crane — Marquee

Michael Ferreira — Local

Charlie Burke — Coach