County Championship: Australia seamer Clint McKay to bolster Leicestershire
Thursday 25 September 2014 14:10, UK
Leicestershire have announced that they have completed the signing of classy Australia seamer Clint McKay for the 2015 season.
Leicestershire have endured a disappointing campaign and are set to finish bottom of Division Two of the County Championship, having yet to win a match this season.
However, the outlook for next year is brighter following the signing of McKay, 31, who has one Test cap to his name after appearing against West Indies in Perth in December 2009.
Something of a 50-over specialist, McKay is an Australia regular in that format and has played in 59 one-day internationals, taking 97 wickets at an average of 24.37.
The Victoria man is also an accomplished T20 performer and has played in six T20 internationals for the Aussies.
Excellent
He has experience of county cricket having previously played for Yorkshire.
Leicestershire director of cricket Phil Whitticase said: “We are absolutely thrilled to sign Clint, he will add a lot of experience and quality to the team.
“Clint has an excellent track record both at international and domestic level, and we look forward to him complementing and working alongside our young bowlers at the club.”
Departures
The Leicestershire website added that the county “is continuing to work hard in recruiting experienced players for the 2015 season and hopes to be in a position to announce more positive news in the near future.”
The county also made a point of stressing it had done everything in its power to prevent the recent departures of players such as Josh Cobb, Nathan Buck and Shiv Thakor.
"The club regrets that a number of home-grown players have decided to leave Grace Road at the end of this season. Those players were offered good deals at the club but sadly decided that their futures lie elsewhere.
"It is not a case that we are 'letting go' of these players. They have turned down contracts here and signed them elsewhere. Sadly, this is out of our control.
"It is certainly not our intention to lose our best players, and we did everything in our power to keep them at the club."
