County 2017 season: Aussies in action

With the County Championship set to get underway on April 7, we've detailed the Australian involvement in this year's competitions.

Division One

HAMPSHIRE

George Bailey

Hampshire will be hoping Bailey continues his terrific Sheffield Shield form when he links up with the club from May 19, after missing the first three matches of the four-day competition. The Tasmanian, who enjoyed a previous stint at Hampshire in 2013, returns as skipper in the first-class competition and will play in all three formats.

MIDDLESEX

Adam Voges

Voges has played his last first-class cricket in Australia but he's back on deck for Middlesex this year, after winning the Division One title last year. The 37-year-old signed on in January and will be available for all 13 Championship matches and all eight one-day cup matches.

SURREY

Aaron Finch

Finch was signed in February as cover for Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara, who will be absent with Caribbean Premier League duties for six weeks in June-July. The Victorian is expected to debut in the Championship game against Warwickshire on July 2, and will also be a member of the T20 squad.

Moises Henriques (T20)

Two years after suffering a broken jaw during a shocking fielding collision, Henriques returns to Surrey for what he's described as "unfinished business". Henriques is set to feature in the T20 domestic competition alongside Finch in the absence of Sangakkara, and heads to England in superb form after an outstanding finish to the Sheffield Shield season.

YORKSHIRE

Peter Handscomb

While Handscomb previously tasted County cricket with Gloucestershire, the Test rep returns to the competition with Yorkshire and is expected to ply his trade in all three formats. New coach Andrew Gale said Handscomb could bat at No.3 and was an excellent option as a back-up wicketkeeper as well.

Travis Head (T20)

Head has re-signed with Yorkshire as a T20 player, with the damaging left-hander having appeared four times for the club under Jason Gillespie in 2016. "It was a no-brainer to bring Travis back," Gale said. "He has gone from strength-to-strength since he left us last summer, getting into the Australia team and being a consistent performer for them."

Division Two

GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Michael Klinger

Klinger signed a new three-year contract with Gloucestershire last August, with the deal revolving primarily around white-ball cricket. The 36-year-old's involvement in the four-day County Championship will be considered on a match-by-match basis. Klinger first signed with Gloucestershire as captain across all three formats in 2013.

Cameron Bancroft

Having tasted some county action for two months at Gloucestershire in 2016, Bancroft returns this time around for a full season. The 24-year-old is set to feature predominantly in first-class action while his availability in white-ball contests will be determined on a match-by-match basis.

Andrew Tye (T20)

Tye returns to Gloucestershire after helping the club reaching the quarter-finals of the domestic T20 tournament last season, and it's in that format that he'll again take part in 2017. The 30-year-old took 18 wickets in 14 T20 matches last year.

LEICESTERSHIRE

Mark Cosgrove

Leicestershire captain Cosgrove was the club's leading runs-scorer in the four-day format last year, posting five hundreds and five fifties among 1,279 runs for the season. The left-hander agreed to a two-year contract extension last July which will keep him at Grace Road until the end of the 2018 season.

Clint McKay

McKay is about to enter the final year of a three-year deal with Leicestershire, where he has played since 2015. The former Australia ODI seamer took 56 wickets at 22.50 in the County Championship last season and, while he has called time on his Shield career, the 34-year-old seems capable of again having an impact this time around.

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

James Pattinson

Pattinson has exploded back into action with Victoria, helping them to a Sheffield Shield three-peat this week, and looks set to form a potent pace combination in Notts' season opener with England quicks Stuart Broad and Jake Ball. The 26-year-old joins the club as a replacement for the injured Peter Siddle. "As soon as James became available as a replacement, we knew he was a great option," said head coach Peter Moores. "He's got real pace, and he's very aggressive, which is the way we want to play our cricket."

Daniel Christian (T20)

Christian led Notts in the domestic T20 competition last northern summer and will take on that role again in 2017. The allrounder enjoyed an impressive season with the bat, averaging 41 and striking at 159 as the county went on a nine-match winning run. The right-hander also smashed a 16-ball 50 against Leicestershire – the equal-fastest half-century in the history of the competition.

WORCESTERSHIRE

John Hastings

Hastings underwent patella tendon surgery recently and the Worcestershire club reported he was "extremely pleased" with his recovery. The fast-bowling allrounder arrived at the county more than a week ago after signing on last August, completing his rehab at New Road. Hastings, who found himself on the outer of the ODI squad over the summer, is expected to be available for the full season. "John will give us a little bit of pace with the new ball," said director of cricket Steve Rhodes. "He is someone who I feel will really help our youngsters. He is a competitive character on the field but a champion of a bloke in the dressing room."