Brown, 30, burst onto the scene in the last two seasons as a mature-age find for Heat after dominating Brisbane grade cricket and had a huge impact for Heat helping them reach two finals and claim the title last season. It’s understood the initial two-year deal comes with the option of two more.
Renegades general manager James Rosengarten said the struggling Melbourne franchise was thrilled to secure Brown as part of a new-look squad next season.
“We are extremely excited to have Josh join our squad,” Rosengarten said. “We’ve identified a clear role for Josh in our batting order which will have a new look this year.
“Josh possesses a good balance of aggression and composure, which we all witnessed in the recent BBL finals series. We’ve been watching Josh for a while so his strong season and BBL finals series were no surprise.”
Brisbane Heat admitted they were disappointed to lose Brown having offered what they believed was a strong offer.
“We provided Josh and his management with a two-year contract offer that was very lucrative and a significant uplift,” Joe Dawes, the new Queensland Cricket general manager, said. “However, we understand the lure of a four-year commitment for him as a player, even though we believed our offer was very competitive and more than fair.
“Our fans will justifiably be disappointed that he won’t be with us going forward, and as a club, we are sad to lose Josh, no doubt.”
“I’ve enjoyed my time with the Heat, they gave me my opportunity, for which I’ll always be grateful and have cherished memories including winning a BBL Championship last season,” he said. “But I am extremely excited for a new challenge and hopefully achieve the same success with the Renegades.
“It’s a young group with a lot of talent and firepower, especially in that batting group. I can’t wait to partner with the likes of Jake Fraser-McGurk and Will Sutherland and see what we can do.”
