SOMERSET have signed Australian Test opener Cameron Bancroft as their overseas player for the 2018 season.

Bancroft, 25, will be available for the majority of the campaign, including most of the County Championship and all of the Royal London One-Day Cup group games.

Director of Cricket Andy Hurry said: “Cameron will be available, subject to permission from Cricket Australia, for the start of the 2018 Specsavers County Championship season, all of the Royal London One-Day Cup fixtures plus the six remaining Championship matches that take place after the T20 Blast group stages.

"This will provide us with the continuity that we are looking for from an overseas signing.

“After a thorough process, designed to ensure that we secure the best fit for our Specsavers County Championship and Royal London One-Day Cup needs, I am delighted that we have signed Cameron.

"He has come very highly recommended and will fit seamlessly into our environment. This will be a key ingredient to us achieving our aspirations of winning silverware.

“Cameron has the appetite and the temperament for scoring big hundreds. He really values the price of his wicket, is mentally tough and highly driven to succeed.”

Bancroft said: “I’m really excited to be joining a county with so much potential.

"I’ve heard a lot of good things about Somerset from Justin Langer and it’s clear that they are a team heading in the right direction.

"There’s a long history of Australians doing well at Taunton, so hopefully I can add my name to that list.”

The opener is currently competing against England in the Ashes series and his unbeaten 82 helped Australia win the first Test by 10 wickets in Brisbane.

He shot to notoriety thereafter with a press conference outlining the circumstances surrounding the ‘headbutt’ he received from England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow in a Perth bar.

The right-handed batsman is no stranger to the West Country, having represented Gloucestershire last summer and scored 685 runs at 40.29 in Division Two, boosted by a late-season 206 not out against Kent.

He started the Sheffield Shield season in fine form for Western Australia, hitting 86 against New South Wales and an unbeaten 228 against South Australia. The weight of runs led to him displacing Matt Renshaw at the top of the order for this Ashes series.