Hampshire secure Afridi for second time

Hampshire secure Afridi for second time

ESPNcricinfo staff

Hampshire will try for a second time to have Shahid Afridi as an overseas player for the Friends Provident t20 after the deal fell through last season due to him captaining Pakistan.

Afridi is expected to be available for the full t20 campaign which begins on June 1 when Hampshire, the defending champions, take on Somerset. He was due to be part of the 2010 tournament but captained against Australia before resigning following the first Test at Lord's.

"I was disappointed not to join Hampshire last season. It would have been fantastic to have been a part of the team that made history by winning the t20 trophy on home soil," Afridi said. "Having played at The Rose Bowl for Pakistan last year I know that it is fast becoming one of the best places in the country to watch cricket of all levels. I hope very much to play a big part in the club's success in 2011."

Afridi has a Twenty20 strike-rate of 159.84 and his bowling is also a highly valuable asset in the shortest format bringing him 98 wickets at 19.03 alongside an economy rate of 6.35

"Shahid is a wonderful all-round cricketer and will be a real asset to our club over what should be an incredibly exciting summer at The Rose Bowl," Giles White, the Hampshire manager, said. "This year we'll see Test match cricket come to the county for the first time, more improvements made to our ground and, of course, Hampshire will be hoping to defend our t20 crown."