Ian Harvey joins Derbyshire

Derbyshire have signed former Australian international Ian Harvey who will be considered a British national courtesy of him having played county cricket since 1999.

Harvey, who played 73 ODIs for Australia and was in the side that won the 2003 World Cup, was a key member of the Gloucestershire team which enjoyed one-day success earlier in the decade.

"I have chosen to join Derbyshire ahead of several other opportunities because of the ambition at the club," he explained. "I know I have still got a lot of cricket left in me and want to play as big a role as possible in helping the club really challenge this season.

"Derbyshire have picked up some top players in the last couple of years and there are some great youngsters coming through. I have no doubt Derbyshire are going to develop into a top side and I want to be a part of that."

Harvey's signing follows the news that Simon Katich had agreed a deal to captain the county.

"In the last couple of weeks we have signed two genuinely world-class players, something Derbyshire have struggled to do for far too long," said Tom Sears, Derbyshire's chief executive. "We hope this will demonstrate to all the club's supporters, followers and local businesses our ambition and they will get behind us this season. There is going to be a lot of exciting cricket at Derbyshire this year and we are confident we have the squad in place to challenge on all fronts."