Cricket: Tait signs with Firebirds

Shaun Tait. Photo / Getty Images

Wellington have signed two Australians, speedster Shaun Tait and allrounder Cameron Borgas, for their opening two matches in the HRV Cup Twenty20 cricket competition.

Tait, a short-form cricket specialist these days and a highly experienced Twenty20 bowler, is one of the quickest bowlers in world cricket having bowled the second fastest delivery ever recorded - a 161.1km/h thunderbolt against England at Lord's in 2010.

He retired from international cricket after the 2011 World Cup but has been a regular Twenty20 player in various teams and competitions around the world, including the Big Bash League in Australia and for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL.

He signed to play for Canterbury in 2010 but didn't appear because of an elbow injury that has given him some problems in the past couple of years.

Borgas is an experienced first-class cricketer from South Australia who has signed with the Sydney Thunder for this season's Big Bash League.

Both will play in Wellington's season opener against Canterbury on November 9 and Auckland a week later.

England all-rounder Chris Woakes will take over from Tait for the eight remaining matches in the HRV Cup and Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal will also play for Wellington later in the competition.

"The addition of two experienced T20 specialists in Shaun and Cameron will add significant value to the Wellington Firebirds for these two important matches," Cricket Wellington chief executive Peter Clinton said. "Express bowlers like Shaun only become available very rarely, while a seasoned T20 player like Cameron will enhance the balance and composure of the side."

"The Wellington Firebirds have nothing short of an All Stars look about it, with Tait and Borgas joining the likes of [Jesse] Ryder, [Mark] Gillespie, [Andy] McKay, [Grant] Elliott, [Luke] Woodcock and [Luke] Ronchi. The team is primed and ready, and we're looking for some great local support to really get the HRV Cup season underway in style."