DURHAM have turned to Australia to replace captain Cameron Bancroft, with the capture of Peter Handscomb, who has signed for the remainder of the season and will feature in all formats.

Handscomb has represented Australia since 2016 in all three formats, and was part of the World Cup squad. He makes his debut in today’s T20 Blast fixture at Worcestshire Rapids at New Road.

The right-hand batsman has played in the Big Bash League for the Melbourne Stars, been in the IPL with Rising Pune Supergiants and played for Yorkshire Vikings in the T20 Blast.

He was picked in the Australian T20 side as wicketkeeper and went onto score a maiden century on his T20 debut in Australia’s win over India.

Having played in the County Championship for Yorkshire and Gloucestershire, he will also feature for Durham in their promotion challenge and will make his Championship debut against Leicestershire in August.

Durham Cricket’s Director of Cricket, Marcus North, said: “We are delighted to welcome Peter to Durham for the rest of the season.

“Peter is a well-known player across all formats of the game, so it is a great to be welcoming him to Chester le Street.

“He will add something extra to the dressing room as we look to push on for the rest of the season.

“He has proven he can score runs having excelled for Victoria in their domestic competition, so we are pleased to have him joining us at Durham.”