Jaques to join Yorkshire

The Australian batsman Phil Jaques will join Yorkshire for the 2005 season after the county fought off competition from other clubs for his signature.

Jaques, 25, has already played for Yorkshire this season, when he was brought in to cover Darren Lehmann's international duties for Australia. And he established himself quickly, averaging over 58 in 19 innings in the Division Two championship, while he has also performed well in the one-day form of the game.

"I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Yorkshire and I'm delighted to be going back next summer," Jaques told the Stellar Group Website.

"Everyone at the club made me feel very welcome and I was pleased to be able to repay them in some way with the runs I managed to score," he added.

"Hopefully next season we will be able to improve and launch a promotion challenge in both the four-day and the one-day games."