Big Bash League: Perth Scorchers spinner Ashton Agar signs three-year deal day before contract deadline

Perth Scorchers have signed spinner Ashton Agar to a three-year deal, just a day before the player contract deadline. Agar rounds out the 10 players the Scorchers are allowed to have signed up under new contracting rules before Sunday night. Any player not committed to the club for next season will then effectively become a free agent for 10 days from after the Big Bash League final. The West Australian understands the deal for Agar, who had interest from Melbourne Renegades for next season, was only sealed on Saturday morning before the Optus Stadium win over Adelaide Strikers which keeps their finals hopes alive. But it further clouds the futures of fellow multiple title-winning veterans Jason Behrendorff and Andrew Tye. Behrendorff can not be signed by Perth before the deadline because they have reached the maximum number of contracts for next season. The Renegades have strong interest in the left-arm swing king, who just became the league’s leading wicket-taker this season, and it is believed they have tabled a multi-year deal that would make him one of their highest-paid players. It is understood the Scorchers are keen to retain Behrendorff but that isn’t entirely in their hands anymore. It is expected Tye, the club’s greatest-ever bowler, will miss out on a contract for next season, with quicks Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson, Mahli Beardman and Matt Kelly already committed. Agar took 1-19 and a sharp catch in the Scorchers’ victory on Saturday night, where they chased down 162 inside 18 overs to finish the regular season with the best net run-rate of the chasing pack. The 31-year-old moved from Victoria as a teenager to take up a contract with Western Australia and has now snubbed what could have been a shift back home. “Perth is my home. I moved here from Melbourne when I was 18 and I’ve never looked back,” Agar said. “To be at the Scorchers for another three years means the world to me. “It means I’m all in at one club and I’m playing with my best mates, in front of the greatest fans in Australia, it’s huge.” They are still relying on Hobart Hurricanes to quash the finals hopes of the Melbourne Stars on Sunday evening to complete a miracle escape and play in the post-season for the fifth consecutive time. If the Scorchers do scrape through, they will play their first final without leading run-scorer Cooper Connolly, who flies to Dubai for a training camp with Australia’s Test squad on Sunday ahead of two matches against Sri Lanka later this month. They will be hopeful of regaining Mitch Marsh, who returned for one match after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series and has sat out the past three as he rests and spends time with family. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes have locked away breakout all-rounder Mitch Owen and paceman Riley Meredith. The pair were tipped to be major pieces during the player movement period. That means West Australian and former Scorchers batter Tim David will become a free agent next week. Melbourne Stars are reportedly keen to snare him.