Hampshire have sought to pep up their attack after promotion to Division One of the LV= County Championship by signing West Indies fast bowler Fidel Edwards for the second part of the 2015 season.
Edwards, 33, will be available in all formats and joins Hampshire as a Kolpak player, therefore not being classed as an overseas player.
Edwards has not represented West Indies since he faced Bangladesh in Khulna in November 2012 when he took six wickets in the first innings to help West Indies win the series.
The right-arm fast bowler will arrive at the Ageas Bowl in time for Hampshire’s opening Royal London One-Day Cup match against the Sussex Sharks on July 27.
Edwards said: “I’m delighted to have signed for such an ambitious club as Hampshire. I’m very much looking forward to my first taste of county cricket. It’s also an honour to follow other Bajans like Malcolm Marshall and Gordon Greenidge to Hampshire.”
Edwards is hugely experienced in all formats with 55 Test Matches and 50 ODIs for the West Indies. In arguably one of his finest individual performances in international cricket, the seamer finished with impressive figures of 6-92 in a Test Match against England at Lord’s in May 2009.
That he can still produce spells of explosive pace was emphasised when he destroyed Nottinghamshire to finish with figures of 8 for 40 during a two-day friendly for the Combined Campuses and Colleges in March this year. Notts collapsed from 60 without loss to 99 for 9 in the process.
Hampshire’s director of cricket Giles White said: “Fidel is a good option for us. He arrives ahead of the Royal London One Day Cup and should give our attack variety which we feel is key in the 50-over format. His stay will also extend to Championship cricket and he will be available until the end of the season.”