Gloucestershire sign up North

Gloucestershire have announced that the Australian batsman Marcus North will deputise for Hamish Marshall at the start of next season.

The county expects Marshall to be with the New Zealand squad at the World Cup in the West Indies until the end of April after he was chosen in the touring party for the CB Series.

The coach Mark Alleyne said: "I am extremely pleased that a player of his calibre and pedigree is joining us."

North is averaging more than 60 for Western Australia in the current season and has previously played for Lancashire, Durham and Derbyshire.

He has also been a member of the Australia A side, bowls tidy off-spin, and will join the Pakistani seamer Umar Gul at Bristol.