Nottinghamshire cricket chief Clive Rice is hoping that South African all-rounder Nicky Boje will be confirmed as the county's overseas player in the next 48 hours.

Boje, 28, is the likely replacement for New Zealand's Chris Cairns, who is now unavailable after sustaining a serious knee injury that is expected to keep him out of cricket for the rest of the year.

Rice said: "In Boje we have a player who is really keen to develop his game by coming to England to play county cricket.

"He is an excellent spin bowler who has made Test 50s and is also a very fine one-day player.

"He will therefore be able to fill a lot of roles and bring considerable experience and depth to our spin department."

Notts are still hoping that Cairns will play in the second season of his two-year contract at Trent Bridge next year.

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