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Milne joins New Zealand county influx

Fast bowler Adam Milne has joined the influx of New Zealand players to English county cricket after agreeing a deal with Essex for a stint in the NatWest T20 Blast

Adam Milne will be steaming in for Essex during the English season  •  Getty Images

Adam Milne will be steaming in for Essex during the English season  •  Getty Images

Fast bowler Adam Milne has joined the influx of New Zealand players to English county cricket after agreeing a deal with Essex for a stint in the NatWest T20 Blast.
Subject to his visa being approved, Milne will be at Essex for seven matches in the second half of the T20 campaign. He will join fellow countrymen Jesse Ryder and Matt Quinn, the latter who has a British passport, to make it a trio of New Zealanders at the club.
Chris Silverwood, the Essex head coach, said. "Adam is a young bowler with plenty of international experience already. He is exactly what we were looking for from an overseas player, with his real pace offering something different to our attack."
Milne said: "I'm extremely excited to have the opportunity to join Essex and help contribute to a successful NatWest T20 Blast. Essex is a club with such a fantastic history and I look forward to wearing the Eagles logo with pride and making an impact to help bring the T20 Blast silverware to Chelmsford"
Milne, who is capable of pushing the speedgun over 90mph but has had an injury-hit career so far, has played 14 T20s for New Zealand, talking 18 wickets at 20.83 with an economy rate of 7.35. He was also part of the New Zealand squad at last year's World Cup, playing until the quarter-final stage when he picked up a heel injury.
New Zealand are now not far off providing a full playing XI in county cricket following a rush of recent signings, including the marquee signature of Brendon McCullum with Middlesex.