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Glamorgan: Mitchell Swepson signs as County Championship cover for Michael Neser

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Mitchell SwepsonImage source, Robert Cianflone
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Mitchell Swepson played for Australia A against New Zealand at the start of 2023

Glamorgan have signed Mitchell Swepson as overseas cover in the County Championship for fellow Australia Test player Michael Neser.

Neser began the season with the Welsh county before joining up with Australia's Ashes squad.

Leg-spinner Swepson, 29, has played in four Tests for Australia, taking 10 wickets.

Like Neser, he plays Sheffield Shield cricket for Queensland and also plays for Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash.

As a specialist spinner, he is not a direct replacement for fast-bowling all-rounder Neser, but is likely to play four County Championship matches in June and July, with his debut against Sussex at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff on Sunday, 25 June.

Glamorgan go into that next four-day fixture fifth in division two, with one win and six draws from seven games.

"I got a text from Marnus (Labuschagne) and he said 'do you want to come and play some cricket in Wales?'. I was looking for an excuse to come and get some cricket under my belt, I've always been keen to come over and play in the county championship so I'm excited to be here," he told the club's website.

"I'm excited just to play cricket at this time of the year because I'm usually getting smashed up in the gym and running, so it's great to be out playing a few more games. I haven't played much in these conditions before so I'm excited to test my skills."

Swepson made his Test debut against Pakistan in March 2022, while his latest appearance for the full Australia side came against Sri Lanka in July last year.

He made his Sheffield Shield debut for Queensland in 2015 and has taken 185 first-class wickets in 62 matches.

Glamorgan have also lost batter Labuschagne to the Australia Test team, who are currently playing England, and have been beset by injuries this season.

They have recently signed New Zealand wicketkeeper Cam Fletcher as short-term overseas cover in T20 for injured South African batter Colin Ingram.

Swepson, Neser and Labuschagne will all head home to Queensland for the Sheffield Shield in September- raising the possibility of yet another overseas signing to play alongside Ingram.