Kings XI Punjab skipper George Bailey signs for Sussex

George Bailey

London, April 15 (IANS)

George Bailey, skipper of the Indian Premier League (IPL) side Kings XI Punjab, has signed a deal with English county club Sussex to play 50-over and T20 matches later this year.

Bailey, 32, will replace Sri Lankan great Mahela Jayawardene in the side.

Bailey will be available for the final seven matches of England's T20 Blast competition as well as Sussex's One-Day fixtures.

"I really enjoyed my time in the county game in 2013 with Hampshire and I am looking forward to testing myself once more in one of the toughest domestic cricket environments," Bailey was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au on Wednesday.

"I have heard excellent things about the set-up at Sussex and we have a really exciting squad that I believe can mount title challenges in all formats in 2015," he said.

Bailey has captained Australia in 29 of 57 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) he has played for his country.

Sussex counting on Bailey’s experience

He has scored over 2,000 ODI runs at an average of 42 and is a leading candidate to replace Michael Clarke in Australia's middle order batting line-up now after the former skipper's retirement from ODIs.

"The whole club is really excited at the prospect of George joining us," Mark Robinson, Sussex's professional cricket manager, said on Wednesday.

"He is obviously a fantastic one-day player and is also a World Cup winner and international captain which will only add to our dressing room," he added.