Yorkshire sign Finch and Maxwell for the Blast

Yorkshire have brought fresh ambition to the NatWest Blast by completing the signing of two of Australia's most destructive Twenty20 batsmen: Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell.

Finch and Maxwell are both expected to play a prominent part for Australia in the World Cup and their arrival at Headingley, coming so soon after Shahid Afridi's decision to join Northants, is a shot in the arm for England's T20 tournament as it faces up to comparisons with the Big Bash League.

Finch, Australia's T20 captain, and Maxwell will both arrive at Headingley in late May immediately after their IPL commitments. He had a decent, if not spectacular, tournament in 2014 and will feature in all formats for Yorkshire.

Yorkshire have long prioritised their Championship cricket, and took the title in 2014, but with debts of more than £20m they are desperate to translate their reputation as a cricketing county into regular sell-out T20 crowds.

Maxwell has the greater challenge of trying to maintain T20 form with only one match a week, a challenge that Kevin Pietersen, among others, has bemoaned as extremely difficult.

Yorkshire will be desperate for the alliance of Finch and Maxwell to take them to Finals Day and fill Headingley in the same manner as Surrey and Middlesex are attracting large crowds to The Oval and Lord's. The advent of floodlights at Headingley, which will allow them to push back start times to 7pm, is also expected to make a sizeable impact.

Yorkshire's Australian coach Jason Gillespie was delighted to secure the signatures of two world-class players. "We're absolutely thrilled to bits to be able to secure the services of two very exciting players in world cricket," he said.

"I spoke to Glenn a little while ago and just enquired as to whether he would be interested in representing Yorkshire and outlined how we saw how well he could fit into the dressing room and the role we wanted him to play. He jumped at the opportunity, I think that says a lot about our club, that players really want to come and play for us.

"Glenn has a fantastic all round game. He's a clean striker of the ball, a wonderful fielder and he bowls some really good off spin but what I'm excited about is what he can bring to specifically our T20 game: a bit of entertainment and a bit of excitement.

"He'll perform well for Yorkshire, no question and he'll bring something we need, that middle to late innings hitting and a good fielder as well as bowl some handy overs for us and really put a show on for the crowd. We've got later starts with the lights at Headingley so it's very exciting this year.

"Aaron is a great leader, he has a lot of leadership and captaincy experience and having a player like that in the dressing room gives the younger players the opportunity to learn off him. He's very open with how he likes to go about things and how he tries to adapt to situations in the middle."

Maxwell is no stranger to the English domestic scene. He represented Hampshire in 2012 and 2014 respectively, during their run of five finals in successive seasons, as well as having a stint at Surrey in 2013.

"I had two great spells with Hampshire and loved every minute," he said. "But Yorkshire are one of biggest clubs in the world and to get the chance to play for them is an honour. It gives me a new challenge that I will relish." Finch emphasised Yorkshire's commitment to T20 cricket next season. "To have made a contribution to their success of winning the title was really good," he said. "I relished the challenge of playing the County Championship against the moving red ball: it has certainly enhanced my game.

"This year the club will be aiming to win the title again, but there is also a major emphasis on doing well in the T20 competition. There were signs last year that when we get it right we are a difficult side to beat. With more application and an improvement in how we approach the game, we can make a concerted effort in challenging for honours.

"Having Maxi playing alongside me will be terrific. He is a true competitor and loves the shorter form of the game."

Yorkshire, unlike some counties, are priocing their tickets compertitively in an effort to fill Headingley with seven home tickets available for £70. Their commitment to T20 gives a clue to the thinking of their chairman Colin Graves, the incoming chairman of the ECB, when he sits down with the chief executive Tom Harrison to plot the future direction of the English county game."