The England County Championship begins this weekend, with three Australians taking to the field for their new clubs
Aussies all set for UK County season
Three Australians will be in action for the first round of four-day County Championship matches beginning this Sunday.
Chris Rogers (Somerset), Jackson Bird (Nottinghamshire) and Cameron Bancroft (Gloucestershire) will brave the chilly English spring as the northern hemisphere’s cricket season gets underway on April 10.
Having retired from Tests at the end last year’s Ashes series defeat to the Old Enemy, Rogers embarks on a new challenge as captain of Somerset.
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The 38-year-old is no stranger to the England domestic circuit; Somerset will be his fifth county and 2016 his 12th domestic season in the UK.
Rogers’ first assignment will be an away fixture against Durham at the Riverside Ground.
Surrey’s batsmen will face the daunting task of a Nottinghamshire bowling attack featuring Bird and England Ashes hero Stuart Broad when the two sides begin their four-day campaigns on Sunday.
Bird has taken a five-wicket haul in each of his past three first-class matches; he picked up 5-59 for Australia in the second Test of their tour of New Zealand, then claimed 15 scalps in Tasmania’s last two Sheffield Shield matches.
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Nottinghamshire Director of Cricket Mick Newell was confident that Bird, a late replacement at Trent Bridge for the injured Peter Siddle, would be well-suited to traditionally bowler-friendly early-season pitches.
"Obviously it was disappointing to lose Siddle, but we were delighted to sign Bird as a replacement," Newell told the England Cricket Board website.
"He's a similar type of bowler in that he'll pitch the ball up and look to hit the stumps, not necessarily at express pace but we expect him to be influential in early-season conditions.
"As a seam-bowling based team you're looking to get off to a good start in April and May.
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Surrey however, may have some inside knowledge on the Sydney-born seamer, with Michael Di Venuto, who was Australia’s batting coach until the recent World T20, the new head coach of the London-based club.
In Chelmsford, England Test captain Alastair Cook will get a look at one of Australia’s brightest batting prospects when Bancroft lines up for Gloucestershire against Cook’s Essex.
The 23-year-old recently took out the Lawrie Sawle medal, awarded to Western Australia’s Player of the Season and joins Gloucestershire as their overseas player until Warriors' teammate Michael Klinger returns to Bristol in late May.
"It's a great opportunity to bat in conditions over here," Bancroft told Sky Sports. "You couldn't ask for a more challenging time than playing first-class cricket in England in April and May.
"As a batter all I want to do is go out and score hundreds, score as many runs as I can, and that will be the main focus for me.
"'Maxy' (Klinger) has done brilliantly for Gloucestershire the last few years and hopefully I can get the ball rolling."
Three more Australians - Adam Voges (Middlesex), Clint McKay and Mark Cosgrove (both Leicestershire) - will get their English seasons underway when another round of matches begin on April 17.