Promoted Hampshire have strengthened their pace attack by signing Australian Test bowler Jackson Bird and vastly-experienced Pakistani international Yasir Arafat for the 2015 season.
Bird, 27, will join Hampshire for the first three months of the season.
Arafat, 32, joins his sixth English first-class county, having previously played for Kent, Lancashire, Somerset, Surrey and three times with Sussex.
Fast bowler Ruel Brathwaite and keeper Michael Bates have both been released.
[color=rgb(0, 0, 0)][/color][table][tr][td][color=rgb(0, 0, 0)][size=13px][/color][color=rgb(28, 28, 28)]Right-arm fast-medium bowler Jackson Bird enjoyed an impressive debut season for Tasmania in 2011-12, finishing the Sheffield Shield's leading wicket-taker. He made his Test debut for Australia in December 2012.[/color][color=rgb(0, 0, 0)][/t][/size][/color][table][tr][td][color=rgb(0, 0, 0)][size=13px][/color][color=rgb(28, 28, 28)]Yasir Arafat, who also bowls right-arm fast-medium, took 33 wickets in one-day cricket for Sussex in 2014. He has a wealth of experience in world one-day cricket having also played for Scotland, Rawalpindi Rams, Otago, Perth Scorchers, Dolphins, Canterbury and Barisal Burners, as well as spells with Sussex, Kent, Surrey, Lancashire and Somerset.[/color][color=rgb(0, 0, 0)][/t][/size][/color][/td][/tr][/table][/td][/tr][/table]
Bird is a nice pickup and will be interested to see how he fares replacing Kyle Abbott. Abbott was fantastic last season and a real menace. He bowled with pace and aggressively. It would be great if Abbott can come back once Bird's three month contract expires.
