Somerset sign New Zealand bowler Neil Wagner for final three rounds of County Championship

Somerset County Cricket Club on Thursday announced the signing of New Zealand bowler Neil Wagner for the final three rounds of the County Championship

London: Somerset County Cricket Club on Thursday announced the signing of New Zealand bowler Neil Wagner for the final three rounds of the County Championship.

“New Zealand International, Neil Wagner has signed for Somerset as an overseas player for the final three County Championship matches of the season,” Somerset said in a statement on Thursday.

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The left-arm seamer will arrive at the Cooper Associates County Ground in time to be in contention for Somerset’s trip to Hampshire on September 3.

The 37-year-old has featured in 63 Tests for his country, claiming 258 wickets at an average of 27.50 with a best of seven for 39. During his career he has featured in a total of 199 First Class matches in which he has taken 807 wickets at an average of 27.09. He has taken five or more wickets in a First Class innings on 36 occasions and 10 wickets or more in a First Class match twice.

I’m looking forward to joining up with Somerset and hopefully I can help them finish the season strongly. I’ve played English County Cricket before and it’s something that I really enjoy,” Neil was quoted as saying by Somerset after signing for the Club.

Division One is very competitive again this year and there are no easy games, but I’ll be doing everything that I can to make sure that Somerset finish as close to the top of the table as possible,” he added.

We have been working extremely hard to secure the services of a quality international bowler for the last three red-ball fixtures of the season. Neil is a proven performer at the very highest level and has vast experience as well as a thorough understanding of Championship cricket,” Somerset Director of Cricket, Andy Hurry said.

He is a real competitor, and alongside our other highly rated bowlers, we believe we have the capability to consistently take 20 wickets as we enter the final phase of the Championship season,” Hurry said.