Ben Slater closes in on Nottinghamshire move

Nottinghamshire are closing in on the signing of Derbyshire's Ben Slater.

Slater, the 26-year-old opening batsman, is in the middle of a productive season for Derbyshire - he is averaging 43 in the Championship - and was understood to have attracted the interest of several counties. Only three men in Division Two of the County Championship have scored more runs this season.

Nottinghamshire have lost several top-order batsmen - the likes of Greg Smith, Michael Lumb, James Taylor and, from red-ball cricket, at least, Alex Hales - over the last year or two. While Slater is solid in the red-ball game, he also has a fine record in List A cricket where he averages in excess of 50 and recently made a century against a strong Yorkshire attack.

Meanwhile, Kent are understood to have shown strong interest in Nottinghamshire's Matt Milnes and Leicestershire's Neil Dexter.