Northamptonshire have signed Western Australia batsman Mike Hussey as their overseas player for the 2001 season – swapping one left-hander from Down Under for another.

The 25-year-old will replace Matthew Hayden, skipper for the last two summers, who is expected to be named in Australia's squad for their Ashes tour to England.

Hussey is the Western Warriors' regular opening batsman in four-day cricket and has been a consistent run-scorer since making his state debut six years ago. He often bats down the order in limited-overs games.

Director of Cricket Bob Carter said: "We are very pleased that Mike is coming to us. Other counties were certainly interested in him, and I think if we had delayed any longer we might have missed out.

"We looked at various possibilities for this summer, and Mike comes highly recommended by both Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer. He has a very good record and was put on a central contract by the Australian Board last year.

"I think he'll fit in very well at Northampton. He should bring both skill and discipline to the side, building on Matthew's contribution over the past couple of seasons."

Hussey, who has scored more than 5,000 first-class runs with a dozen hundreds and an average of just over 44, is unlikely to join the county's pre-season tour to Grenada next month. But Carter hopes he will arrive in time for the annual photocall and press day at Wantage Road in mid-April.

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