Marsh turns down Northants offer

David Smith's attempts to sign Shaun Marsh have come to nothing

The County had hoped to add the West Australian, who had a successful stint at Glamorgan last year, to their squad to fill the second overseas player slot but his questionable fitness record has seen Cricket Australia encourage him to opt for rest instead of another stint overseas.

Marsh is already playing in the Indian Premier League and has signed a deal to participate in the inaugural Caribbean Premier League tournament which is scheduled for July.

The club’s chief executive, David Smith, has admitted that finance is in place to bring in an extra player to complement Cameron White and had hoped to announce Marsh’s captue later in the week.

But they will now be forced to scour the market for a suitable alternative to bolster the side’s batting, an area which has let them down in the past couple of years.

The competition gets under way in the final week of June with the County’s first outing against Gloucestershire at the County Ground on Friday, June 28.