Published: 23rd October, 2019

Australian international Michael Neser has joined Surrey as overseas player for the first half of the 2020 Specsavers County Championship campaign.

He will initially join Surrey until early July and the exact amount of matches he will be available for will become apparent when the 2020 fixtures are announced next month.

The 29-year-old right-arm seamer and lower order batsman has more than 250 career wickets and got off to an excellent start in the 2019/20 Sheffield Shield earlier this month with a five-wicket haul for Queensland.

That continued the momentum from his imperious form in the 2018/19 Australian domestic season, in which he hit seven half-centuries and took 33 wickets at an average of 23.03 including 5/15 against Western Australia.

His two one-day international appearances for Australia came in England during the 2018 season; the first of which was played at The Kia Oval where he claimed the wickets of Alex Hales and Moeen Ali. He was then part of the touring squad for this summer’s Ashes series, although he is yet to make his Test debut.

After signing his contract, Neser said: “It has been a long held ambition of mine to play county cricket. To be able to do so at The Kia Oval alongside some fabulous players is obviously hugely exciting for me. I look forward to contributing and helping the guys challenge at the top of the County Championship in 2020.”

Director of Cricket Alec Stewart added: “What I have seen of him plus strong recommendations from former Australian players whose opinions I greatly respect means I am very pleased Michael will join us for the first half of next year’s Specsavers County Championship.

“The experience he will have gained from being a part of Australia’s Ashes squad will stand him in good stead for the coming season. I look forward to seeing him perform successfully in a Surrey shirt.”