Leicestershire have announced the signing of Australian batsman Mark Cosgrove as club captain on a two-year contract.
The 30-year-old left-hander, who has a British passport, will be available in all competitions and links back up with South Australia and Sydney Thunder team-mate Andrew McDonald, who is the new Leicestershire head coach.
Cosgrove, also a useful medium pacer, has played plenty of county cricket before, having spent three full seasons at Glamorgan, and represented Australia in three one-day internationals, all in 2006.
Cosgrove scored 2,823 runs, including 10 centuries, at an average of 52.27 in his 60 first-class innings for the Welsh county, with whom he also made 999 runs at 38.42 in List A cricket and 991 T20 runs at 27.91.
Leicestershire chief executive Wasim Khan said: “We are delighted to sign a player of Mark’s calibre, quality and experience. He will be a fantastic captain for us and we look forward to Mark having a huge influence on us in 2015.”
Wasim added: “We have been in discussions with Mark for a while about joining the club but only now he has reached the end of Australian season have we been able to conclude any agreement. We have tracked him for a while so are delighted to have been able to secure his signature.
McDonald said: “Mark is a player I know well from my time at South Australia and Sydney Thunder and it is brilliant that we have him on board for the next two seasons.
“Mark is a destructive batsman who can bat anywhere at the top of the order and his aggressive approach will be welcome in all formats. Mark has a terrific career record and his leadership abilities will be of great value to Leicestershire County Cricket Club, as well as the runs that he will score.”
Batsman Ned Eckersley has been named as vice-captain for the 2015 season as Leicestershire continue to ring the changes following a forgettable few years which has seen them fail to win an LV= County Championship match since 2012.