With counties on a spree to sign foreign players for their key positions, Essex too got into the race by signing New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham for the upcoming T20 Blast, the premier T20 tournament of England and Wales.
After plying his trade in the Indian Premier League from early April till May, Neesham, 30, will join the county in June and would be available throughout the group stage of the tournament.
Essex head coach Anthony McGrath believes that a true all-rounder was the need of the hour for the side, especially after Ravi Bopara left to join Sussex.
"We sat down at the end of last season and concluded that we needed to add another allrounder to the T20 squad, and with all of his talent and experience, Jimmy fits the bill perfectly," said McGrath.
"He's excelled with both the bat and the ball on the biggest of stages for his country, as well as in the global franchise competitions and it's a great match for both the player and the club," he added enumeration the importance of Neesham in the squad.
The Auckland born has previously had county stints with Derbyshire and Kent and is looking forward to playing with the 2019 Blast champions.
"I am really looking forward to joining up with Essex Eagles for this year's Vitality Blast. I'm excited about linking up with Ryan ten Doeschate again, having played with him for a few seasons when he was with Otago, and hopefully, we can replicate the success of 2019," Neesham said.
The right-handed bowler and left-arm medium-fast bowler has so far played 143 T20 matches. In them, he has scored 2001 runs at a strike rate of 138.76 and taken 132 wickets with an economy of 9.14.