Middlesex have signed Peter Handscomb on a two-year contract, with the Australia batsman to captain the county in first-class and 50-over cricket.

The 28-year-old, who has represented Australia across all formats, is currently the captain of Victoria and will replace Dawid Malan as skipper; Malan relinquished the captaincy at the end of the 2019 season before joining Yorkshire earlier this week.

Handscomb has previously enjoyed stints in county cricket with Gloucestershire in 2015, Yorkshire in 2017 and Durham this year.

Stuart Law, Middlesex’s head coach, expressed that he was “delighted” and “excited” to have Handscomb signed up as the club’s overseas player.

“I have known Peter for some time and worked with him at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane seven or eight years ago, so I know what a top bloke he is,” Law said.

“Peter is a fine player and he will fill a couple of the gaps that have been created. He is a successful captain, a fine middle-order player and the sort of character who will help create a strong positive environment that will keep moving the club forward. He has been brought up in a tough environment and his background will help with the continued development of our young cricketers.”

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