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Nicol Set To Be Next Overseas Signing

15 June 2012

New Zealander Rob Nicol has agreed to join Gloucestershire as their overseas player for the final two months of the season.

The 29-year-old opening batsman from Auckland will take over from fellow countryman Kane Williamson, who returns to New Zealand at the end of next week to prepare for their tour of West Indies.

Nicol will not be available until mid July so Gloucestershire will have only one overseas player, Muttiah Muralitharan, for the majority of their Friends Life t20 campaign.

The county’s useful association with New Zealand Cricket, set up by John Bracewell, a former Kiwi Test player and national coach, is set to pay dividends again.

It means Gloucestershire are sent players with international potential such as Williamson and Nicol, who receive a useful grounding in English conditions to broaden their experience.

Bracewell said: “New Zealand are sending us another player once our T20 competition is over and at this stage it looks like being Rob Nicol.

“He would be a like-for-like replacement for Kane Williamson and has a very good first class record.”

Nicol, a right-handed batsman who bowls occasional off-spin, has played in two Test Matches for New Zealand. He averages nearly 49 in nine one-day international appearances, scoring two centuries.

“Unfortunately Rob will be on standby for New Zealand’s tour to West Indies so he won’t be joining us until about halfway through the Cheltenham Festival,” added Bracewell.

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