Sussex target England duo

Sharks look at signing Hoggard and Panesar

Last updated: 6th November 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Sussex target England duo

Hoggard and Panesar: Wanted by Sussex

Related links

Teams

Players

Also see

Sussex are lining up a double swoop for former England team-mates Monty Panesar and Matthew Hoggard.

The Sharks have already offered Hoggard a three-year deal following his release from Yorkshire - although they face competition from Leicestershire for his signature.

Sussex chief executive Dave Brooks told The Argus: "As far as we are aware it is just us and Leicestershire who are left in the race - we are down to the last two.

"If you are serious about signing someone like Matthew you have to offer him the security of a three-year contract. It was one of the reasons why he left Yorkshire so it is the right thing to do."

However, Leicestershire have also put a three-year contract on the table and are awaiting a response from the player.

"We met with Matthew yesterday and showed him round the club but we don't expect anything to happen until early next week as Matthew will be taking the weekend to think about things," Foxes chief executive David Smith said.

"We have offered him the same (as Sussex), a three-year deal."

Meanwhile, Sussex are keen to bolster their spinning options by bringing Panesar to the club.

Panesar has a year left on his current deal with Northamptonshire, however the 27-year-old has been told he can leave.

Panesar was omitted from the England squad to tour South Africa this winter, while he has also lost his ECB central contract after a loss of form.

Sussex, though, are keen to throw the left-arm spinner a lifeline.

Brooks added: "When there are players of Monty's proven ability available I would expect (coach) Mark Robinson to be banging on my door to see what chances there are of us signing them. We are trying to improve our squad and he would definitely do that."

S Africa v England. Click here to bet.