Renegades were prepared to trade Harper, who has been their wicketkeeper since their title-winning season in 2018-19. He had been an inconsistent contributor with the bat having been shuffled around various positions in Renegades' top-order but he was coming off one his better BBL seasons last year making three half-centuries in 12 innings, striking at 141.17.

"Making a cross-town move is always going to raise some interest, it was a difficult decision, but I felt like it was the right time of my career to make a move," Zampa said. "One of the things that really attracted me to the Renegades was the fact that two of my best friends play for them in Kane Richardson and Nic Maddinson, it's not often that you get to my age and you get that opportunity to play with your two best mates.

"The Renegades were a pretty natural fit for me, as well as having close friends in the squad and I really enjoy my time in Melbourne over summer and love playing at Marvel Stadium.

"The way that they've been building up the list has been pretty exciting, there's a really good blend of experience with some talented young players - hopefully I can play a part in their growth too.\

"I'm sure the move will add a little bit more spice to the Melbourne Derby, we had two pretty good games last year and I'm sure it'll be the same again with a bit of player movement."

"We're thrilled to be able to secure the services of Sam, who is an outstanding person and we're looking forward to seeing him behind the stumps in BBL13," general manager Blair Crouch said.

"Last year Sam also showed he is more than capable with the bat and was the Renegades second highest run scorer behind Aaron Finch.

"This trade has allowed the club to sign a number of quality players, as we saw with Scott Boland last week and we're looking forward to announcing more of those signings in the coming weeks."