Shropshire bring in bowler Alex Wyatt

Six-foot-seven tall Wyatt spent seven years as a member of Leicestershire's first team squad after progressing from the Academy ranks at Grace Road.

Having just returned to England from six months in Australia playing for Melbourne-based club Hoppers Crossing, he's now looking to make an impact for Shropshire.

Wyatt, 25, said: "Playing in Australia for six months has certainly helped coming back into the nets in England.

"I'm looking forward to playing for Shropshire and I'm up to speed with the one-day and three-day competitions, while I've also heard a lot of good things about the strength of the squad."

Wyatt will combine representing the county with playing club cricket for Ticknall in the Derbyshire Premier League.

He's keen to help Shropshire gain success while he also has ambitions of ultimately pushing for a return to the first-class game.

Wyatt took 57 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 36.40 apiece while he also claimed 14 wickets with the white ball for the East Midlands club.

He made his first-class debut for Leicestershire in 2009, taking three wickets in his second match against the West Indies tourists, when his victims included Ramnaresh Sarwan, his future county captain.

Wyatt is unable to play in this weekend's internal practice game for the Shropshire squad at Wrekin College.

But he will be available when the county launch their competitive season against Herefordshire in the Unicorns Trophy at Shrewsbury's London Road ground the following Sunday April 24.

Karl Krikken, Shropshire's director of cricket, stressed Wyatt's arrival is particularly timely following the departure of paceman Ben Sanderson, a key man with the ball for the county in recent years, to Northamptonshire.

Krikken said: "Alex is a tall lad and I've seen him play a few times. He gets plenty of deep bounce and he hits the spot every time."