Warwickshire sign West Indies quick Chemar Holder ahead of County Championship run-in

Warwickshire have become the latest club to bolster their squad ahead of the County Championship's 'Super September', signing the Barbados seamer Chemar Holder for their Division One run-in.

Holder, who made his Test debut in New Zealand last December, will fly to London on Friday after the conclusion of West Indies' Test series against Pakistan in Jamaica, and is due to be available for Warwickshire's away fixture against Lancashire on August 30.

Holder was the leading wicket-taker in the 2019-20 West Indies Championship, spearheading Barbados' title-winning attack, and was part of the squad that toured England and New Zealand last year then made an ODI debut in Bangladesh at the start of 2021. He was not retained by St Lucia Kings in the CPL despite playing a part in their run to the final last season, opening up the opportunity to play county cricket.

The decision to sign an overseas fast bowler is a change of strategy from Warwickshire, who employed top-order batters Pieter Malan and Hanuma Vihari as their international signings earlier in the summer. But with Dom Sibley set to be available after being dropped by England and fast bowlers Henry Brookes and Olly Stone both out for the season, they have opted to add depth to their seam-bowling stocks.

Warwickshire start the final stage of the Championship top of Division One, carrying forward half the points they accumulated in their group games against Nottinghamshire. They finished seventh out of eight teams in the old Division One in 2019 and were winless in last summer's Bob Willis Trophy, but have impressed in first-class cricket since Mark Robinson's arrival as head coach.

Paul Farbrace, Warwickshire's director of cricket, said: "We're delighted to add Chemar to our bowling unit ahead of what is an exciting four games in the LV= Insurance County Championship. Chemar is a young, tall, fast bowler who will offer us something different as we look to build on our impressive start.

"In the red-ball game Chemar has impressed internationally and domestically and I know he's extremely excited to wear the Bear and Ragged Staff. I'd like to thank batsmen Hanuma Vihari and Pieter Malan for their contributions, and we look forward to welcoming Chemar very soon."

Holder said: "Warwickshire is a fantastic club with a proud history of winning trophies and overseas stars. The Bears squad have a great opportunity to win a trophy this season and I can't wait to contribute and help the team achieve their goals. I'm incredibly excited to test myself in such an illustrious competition."