Former Aussie pacer John Hastings will return to his native New South Wales after signing a one-year deal with the Sydney Sixers in the upcoming season of the Big Bash League (BBL).

Hastings, who retired from first-class and one-day cricket last year, played seven years with the Melbourne Stars and captained them last season.

But after a last-placed finish in 2017, the pacer has decided to head north to Sydney.

“It is nice to be back in Sydney actually, it brought back a lot of nice memories walking through that NSW cricket office,” Hastings was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

“I’ve got an opportunity to come back and play with a lot of close friends of mine, Stevie O’Keefe was best man at my wedding and Moises Henriques and I played a lot of cricket together as juniors and Pete Nevill is one of my good mates as well,” he added.

The move will see Hastings rejoin his former Victoria coach Greg Shipperd.

Hastings added on that, “The relationship we’ve had over the years is great, he’s almost been like a father to me in a sense. I went down (to Melbourne) as a 21-year-old kid so for me I really sort of made my way and he helped shape the man I grew into.”