BIG-HITTING Kiwi Martin Guptill will don the whites for Worcestershire as the Pears return to four-day cricket with the visit of Lancashire to New Road.
Guptill arrived in the UK on Sunday for a six-week stint which will take in two County Championship clashes and the opening eight games in the Vitality Blast T20 competition.
He will be part of a Worcestershire side looking to bounce back from Sunday’s Royal London One-Day Cup semi-final setback against Kent and also to get their Championship campaign up and running after a challenging start to the season.
The 31-year-old, from Auckland, will be part of the Pears team to take part in the floodlit pink ball four-day game with Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge which begins on Monday.
The Kiwi, who has played 47 Tests and 159 ODIs, will play alongside fellow overseas players Callum Ferguson and then Travis Head in the Vitality Blast before jetting off at the end of July to play in the Caribbean Premier League.
Head coach Kevin Sharp said he was excited by the prospect of seeing Guptill in Worcestershire’s colours.
“He is a world-class player and we will look forward to see him playing on Wednesday. He has a tremendous record and that’s why we signed him,” he said. “Martin is such a destructive player in white ball cricket but he also has a good record in red ball cricket.”
Guptil, who played T20 cricket for Lancashire in 2016, is Worcestershire’s third quality overseas signing of the summer after Australian duo Head and Ferguson.
Ferguson said: “I’ve played a little bit against him and he is a fantastic cricketer. No doubt he will have an impact.
“He is another welcome addition, brings a lot of class to the side and no doubt our players will be able to learn off him as well.”