Gloucestershire sign Kiwi Clarke ahead of County Ground clash with Northants
Gloucestershire have strengthened their squad ahead of their trip to cinch County Ground to take on Northants on Friday (start 11am).
The west country side, who sit bottom of the Rothesay County Championship Division Two after six matches, have swooped to sign New Zealand international bowling all-rounder Kristian Clarke on a two-match deal.
The 25-year-old has made three ODI appearances for his country as well as landing a single T20I cap, and boasts a decent first-class bowling record with Northern Districts in his homeland, taking 86 wickets in 31 matches.
With the bat, he averages just under 27 and has a highest score of 103.
Gloucestershire director of cricket Jon Lewis said: "Kristian is an exciting young all-rounder who’s eager to prove himself in English domestic cricket and is a like-for-like replacement for Liam Scott, who is unable to play in these County Championship games as planned due to his call-up for Australia.
"I’ve been really impressed by what I’ve seen and heard from coaches in and around the New Zealand set up– he’s a strong all-round cricketer with both bat and ball.
"Kristian is an exciting addition to the squad for the next two games.”
Gloucestershire arrive at Wantage Road in desperate need of a win as they sit bottom of the table, 37 points adrift of second-from-bottom Middlesex, and 53 points behind second-placed Northants.
The two sides met at Bristol ahead of the break for the first block of Vitality Blast games, with Northants winning a thriller by two wickets on the final day.