Simon Katich, the 27 year-old Australian left-handed batsman and left-arm wrist spinner, will be Hampshire's second overseas player next season after signing a one-year contract. Shane Warne will captain the county providing he recovers from his shoulder dislocation sustained in the one-day international against England on Sunday, but Katich should prove to be a very useful addition to his resources.

It was during the 1998/99 Australian season that Katich really emerged with statistics to confirm his rich promise when he scored 1,039 runs in the Sheffield Shield, including 115 in the final, to help Western Australia take the title. This earned him selection to tour Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe with the national side, but he went down with chicken pox while away and took some time to rid himself of the virus.

He made an immediate impact when he played for Durham in the summer of 2000, scoring a thousand runs at an average in excess of 40 and, following another very successful season in Australia, was selected for the Ashes tour in England in 2001. He made his Test debut at Headingley when captain Steve Waugh was injured, and the following winter made his one-day international debut for Australia.

A product of the Australian academy, he moved from his native Western Australia to New South Wales for the current Australian season and took three wickets to rip out England's middle order in the one-day match at Sydney prior to the start of the VB Series. He played in one first-class match for Yorkshire last season and three limited-overs games when Darren Lehmann was called away on national duty.

Hampshire's director of cricket, Tim Tremlett, said: "We're delighted to have signed a player of Simon's calibre. He is familiar with English conditions and is very highly regarded.

"Obviously the county is hoping he doesn't do a John Crawley and get into the national side after signing for us," he added.

His first-class career to date sees his batting average standing at an impressive 48.31, with 16 hundreds, while in one-day cricket he averages 36.81.

© CricInfo