Middlesex sign Keshav Maharaj as overseas player for 2023 season

NICK FRIEND - EXCLUSIVE: The South African left-arm spinner joins between April and July as Middlesex return to the top tier of the County Championship for the first time since 2017

Middlesex have signed South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj as an overseas player for the majority of the 2023 season.

The left-arm spinner, who has taken 206 international wickets and is widely considered to be one of the finest finger-spinners in the game.

The Cricketer understands that he is set to be available from the third match of Middlesex's County Championship campaign through to the end of July.

That accounts for eight first-class fixtures as the club returns to the top tier of the County Championship for the first time since 2017, as well as the entirety of the T20 Blast, where Middlesex have a uniquely dismal record, having not been to Finals Day since winning the tournament in 2008.

Maharaj has a phenomenal – albeit scattered – record in county cricket; he took 17 red-ball wickets at 16.64 apiece during a stint with Lancashire in 2018, before claiming 38 wickets at 18.92 apiece a year later with Yorkshire.

Middlesex have been after an experienced spinner since sealing their promotion in September. Maharaj's compatriot, Pieter Malan, is already onboard as an overseas batter for the summer – he replaced Peter Handscomb midway through the 2022 summer – but they kept their second spot open in the hope of adding someone with the experience and guile of Maharaj.

^{Maharaj and Pieter Malan (left) have represented South Africa together in the past (Ashley Vlotman/Getty Images)}

Last season, Middlesex focused their second overseas slot on a seamer, with Shaheen Shah Afridi and Umesh Yadav both fulfilling that role in the County Championship, while Jason Behrendorff replaced Afridi in the T20 Blast.

But with Tom Helm and Toby Roland-Jones enjoying excellent campaigns, Tim Murtagh still going, Ryan Higgins returning to the county, Ethan Bamber establishing himself in the line-up and Blake Cullen back from an injury that curtailed his 2022, Middlesex have looked to strengthen elsewhere.

Luke Hollman, the 22-year-old leg-spinning allrounder, played 12 out of 14 games during the promotion campaign, picking up 19 wickets and impressing with the bat, scoring 518 runs at an average of 34.53 from the lower middle order. In 2021, he picked up 10 wickets in a win over Sussex, giving him the best match figures for an English leg-spinner in more than a decade.

He will remain a key part of Middlesex's white-ball side, while his all-round skillset keeps him well placed to feature alongside Maharaj as the season wears on. Ian Salisbury, the former England leg-spinner and ex-Sussex head coach, has joined the coaching staff, allowing him to work with both Hollman and Thilan Walallawita.

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