Notts confirm Cowan signing

Ed Cowan, the Australia opener, has been confirmed as Nottinghamshire's overseas signing for the first half of the 2013 season. Cowan, who will likely feature in the Ashes against England later in the summer, will be available for seven rounds of the Championship, as well as eight CB40 matches.

The move, first reported on ESPNcricinfo, will give Cowan extra time to get used to batting in English conditions ahead of the Ashes. Notts will be his second county, after a stint with Gloucestershire in 2012, and the 30-year-old has also played in England for Scotland and Oxford MCCU. He currently averages 34 in Test cricket after 11 matches, with one century.

"I was very keen to play some Division One cricket and I'm pleased to have the opportunity to do that with Nottinghamshire," Cowan said. "There are a lot of good players at the Club and Trent Bridge is a great venue so I'm hoping to make a good contribution on and off the field."

Nottinghamshire, who finished fifth in Division One in 2012, will look to recruit another overseas player after Cowan's departure. Last season, Adam Voges filled the overseas role, while David Hussey had previously been linked with a return to the club.

Notts' director of cricket, Mike Newell, said: "Ed has an excellent record in Test cricket and there was an opportunity to sign him for a decent period given that a lot of Australian players were set to spend time in England on an A tour in preparation for the Ashes. Our priority was to find a player who we felt could score a good volume of runs in four day cricket but Ed has a good one day record as well and we're confident that he can make a difference for us."