Klinger to lead Gloucestershire

Want to know which players have gone where? Click here for all the comings and goings on the domestic scene

Gloucestershire have signed Australian batsman Michael Klinger as captain and overseas player for next season.

The 32-year-old, who has significant captaincy experience for current side South Australia and has also represented Victoria and Australia A, will join Gloucestershire at the start of the campaign and is available for all three domestic competitions.

Melbourne-born Klinger has scored nearly 6,000 first-class runs at an average of 37 and has a top score of 255. He averages 41 in List A cricket and 26 in Twenty20.

Michael Klinger, who briefly played for Worcestershire at the start of this domestic season, will lead Gloucestershire for next year

He moved from Victoria to South Australia for the 2008-09 season and his performances over the next two campaigns were so good that he was appointed captain, although Johan Botha is leading them this term.

Klinger, who briefly played for Worcestershire at the start of this domestic season as a stop-gap before Phil Hughes’ arrival, will succeed Alex Gidman, who stood down in September to concentrate on his batting.

Gloucestershire director of cricket John Bracewell said: "We are delighted to be signing a player of Michael's quality and experience.

"He has proved himself adept at all forms of the game and has captaincy experience. We expect him to be available throughout the 2013 season. It is not easy to find overseas players who tick all those boxes and a lot of work has gone into finding the right man."

Chief executive Tom Richardson added: "This is good news and I am sure he will add a lot of value to the club. We are now looking towards signing a second overseas player for the FLt20 campaign."

Want to know what's happening at your county? Interested in how your rivals are faring? Look no further than ecb.co.uk's county-by-county page