AUSTRALIAN international Ashton Turner and young Nottinghamshire ace Jake Libby have bolstered Worcestershire’s batting line-up after signing up for the 2020 campaign.
Turner is the second overseas signing for the Vitality Blast and the 26-year-old is available for the 2018 winners’ entire programme.
The big-hitting Western Australian will take part in the knockout stages and finals day if the Rapids progress through the group stages.
He will join forces with the county’s other overseas player, Kiwi Hamish Rutherford, who is available all season and is playing all formats of the game.
Right-handed Turner has recently been in action for Australia in their home T20I Series against Pakistan having previously played last month against the visiting Sri Lankans.
The Perth-born player has made ten T20I and three ODI appearances and boasts a vast amount of experience in white-ball cricket.
Turner has played in the Big Bash for Perth Scorchers in every campaign since 2013 and made his debut in the Indian Premier League for the Rajasthan Royals last year.
His 83 T20 appearances have yielded 1,166 runs and a strike rate of 136.05 and he was the leading run scorer for the Scorchers in last year’s competition.
Turner will go head-to-head with county pace ace Pat Brown in January when the Scorchers host Brown’s Melbourne on January 15.
Former Trent Bridge ace Libby has put pen to paper on a three-year contract at New Road until the end of the 2022 season.
The 26-year-old Plymouth-born batsman hit 100 not out in the day-night Championship match against Worcestershire at Trent Bridge in June 2018 and in 2014 became the first Nottinghamshire player in 68 years to hit a century on debut.
He has scored five first class hundreds and amassed 2,574 runs from 55 games at an average of 28.60 and featured prominently for the Outlaws in white-ball cricket last summer, playing seven Royal London One-Day Cup and nine Vitality Blast matches.
The club’s Cricket Steering Group Chairman, Paul Pridgeon welcomed the addition of two young batsmen to the county’s line-up.
“Ashton is a top order batter, batting four or five at the moment in the Australian T20 side,” he said.
“He is also a terrific fielder which helps and is important in T20 cricket.”
Pridgeon hopes Libby’s signing will act as a spur to some of the promising young players at the club.
“Jake will strengthen us in terms of Championship and white-ball cricket. He spoke to other counties but made it clear he was keen to come here,” he said.
“At 26, hopefully he has his best years ahead of him and he is hungry to make a big impression.”
