Sussex have signed former New Zealand Under-19 captain Craig Cachopa on a two-year.
The 22-year-old batsman has been on trial at the BrightonandHoveJobs.com County Ground for the past two games and, after hitting two centuries with the second XI, has impressed in a couple of NatWest T20 Blast matches.
The right-hander averages 51.15 in fiorst-class cricket, having made 21 appearances for Auckland in New Zealand. He scored his highest score of 203 in February.
Cachopa, who was born in South Africa but qualifies as a non-overseas signing as he holds a Portuguese passport, was pleased to sign a deal, saying: “I’m really happy to have signed here at such a historic club and this is a fantastic opportunity for me.
“I played with Chris Nash and Luke Wright in New Zealand and when I came over to the UK to play club cricket, they suggested I joined up with the second XI.
“That gave me the chance to get to know the club and I’m absolutely thrilled to be offered a contract.”
Sussex’s professional cricket manager Mark Robinson said, “We’re delighted to have Craig on board and we are excited to see how he progresses over the next two years.
“We can’t wait to see if he is able to transfer his form that he has shown for Auckland and our second team into first team runs for us.”