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Leicestershire have signed Australia batter Peter Handscomb for the first two months of the County Championship.

After spells with Gloucestershire, Yorkshire, Durham and Middlesex, the 31-year-old will be joining his fifth English county team.

He will be available for the first six rounds of matches after withdrawing from Australia A's tour to New Zealand.

After earning a Test recall in February, Handscomb is a contender for this summer's Ashes series.

Handscomb had not played Test cricket for four years until being recalled for the four-match series in India, in which he made 145 runs in six innings in the Aussies' 2-1 series defeat.

That took him to an aggregate of 1,079 runs in his 20 Tests, including two centuries - and he has also appeared in 22 one-day internationals and two T20 internationals.

Handscomb has been in great form this winter for his state side Victoria, hitting 571 runs in five matches to help them reach this week's final of the Sheffield Shield against Western Australia, against whom he made a career-best 281 not out in October.

Handscomb, who holds a British passport, will be used as an overseas player alongside Wiaan Mulder ahead of the arrival of former India captain Ajinkya Rahane in June.

Leicestershire director of cricket Claude Henderson "We are really excited to have Peter on board. Batting in April can be tricky, but he has great knowledge of English conditions, and he will bring first-class leadership experience to our group as well."

Handscomb will be making something of a return to Grace Road, having made five appearances for Leicestershire Seconds in 2011.

"I had a short but enjoyable spell with the Leicestershire Second XI, so it will be good to come back," he said.

"I've always enjoyed playing county cricket. I can't wait to meet my new team-mates and be part of the Foxes family."

The Foxes finished bottom of Division Two in 2022, without a County Championship win, but they did reach the quarter-finals of the One-Day Cup.