Mir Hamza joins Warwickshire for County Championship

Warwickshire County Cricket Club has signed Pakistani fast bowler Mir Hamza for their upcoming two County Championship matches.

Hamza, a 30-year-old with an impressive record of 379 first-class wickets, will be replacing his compatriot Hasan Ali in the squad.

The left-arm bowler is set to play against Lancashire, starting on Wednesday, and against Middlesex on 25th July.

This won't be Hamza's first experience in county cricket, as he previously played seven matches for Sussex in 2019, during which he took 24 wickets.

Mark Robinson, the head coach of Warwickshire, expressed his excitement about having Hamza on the team, stating that the left-armer adds another dimension to their bowling unit.

"Hamza will give us another dimension to our bowling unit as a left-armer. We're slightly stretched at the minute, and although Craig Miles and Liam Norwell are on the comeback trail, we'll be light in the seam department if anything happens to our currently fit bowlers," said Mark.

"He played alongside Burgy [Michael Burgess] and Briggsy [Danny Briggs] at Sussex, who along with Hasan, have all spoke about him being a very skillful bowler," he further added.

Despite facing visa delays, the club is looking forward to Hamza's contributions, especially after their recent victory against Kent. The Bears nonetheless won in three days and are third in the Division One table, 23 points behind leaders Surrey.