Hodge among four signed by Auckland

Auckland Aces have signed four overseas players - Brad Hodge, Luke Wright, David Willey and James Fuller - for the forthcoming Twenty20 HRV Cup. They will be available for the side at different stages of the competition that runs between November 1 and January 18, 2014.

Hodge, the Australian batsman, is currently the second highest run-getter in T20 cricket with 5676 runs in a ten-year period, behind Chris Gayle. He played one game for Auckland last season and will be available for the first three games.

Wright, the England and Sussex allrounder, played for Wellington in the 2010-11 HRV Cup. He will be available for two matches at Eden Park at the end of November.

Willey, the Northamptonshire batsman, will miss the first three rounds but will be available for the remainder of the tournament.

Fuller, the South Africa born fast bowler who plays for Gloucestershire, will be around for the entire duration of the tournament. He was part of the Otago squad that won the HRV Cup last season.

"To secure these guys for the HRV Twenty20 is really huge for us,'' Auckland coach Matt Horne said. "All of them are proven Twenty20 performers and each one gives us something different. We think they'll provide us with some real strike power and we're looking forward to them joining us from November.''