Alex Gidman: Worcestershire sign former Gloucestershire skipper

Gidman made his Gloucestershire debut in 2002

Worcestershire have signed former Gloucestershire captain Alex Gidman on a two-year contract.

Gidman, 33, whose current contract with Gloucestershire was due to expire, will fill the expected gap left if Moeen Ali remains an England regular next summer.

The announcement of Gidman's move comes just a day after he made a career-best 264 against Leicestershire at Bristol.

Gidman, whose brother Will is also leaving Nevil Road to join Notts, made his Gloucestershire debut in 2002.

"At the moment our experienced batters are Moeen Ali and Daryl Mitchell," said Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes.

"And, with Moeen's potential future England commitments increasing, to have Alex as another experienced senior batter in the category of Daryl and Moeen can only be a benefit.

"If you look at some of the recent innings he has played, they have been quite outstanding. One of them was against us but also to get 260-odd in the current game against Leicestershire is also a fantastic achievement.

"We are getting someone who is in the very best form of his career. We need a middle-order player with experience who our young players can play around and learn from."

Gloucestershire chief executive Will Brown said: "We thank Alex for the huge amount he has contributed to Gloucestershire cricket. We fully appreciate his desire for a fresh challenge at this stage in his career."

Meanwhile, Worcestershire have lost overseas paceman Mitchell McClenaghan for their final Championship game, following his father's death back in New Zealand.

McClenaghan, 28, who replaced Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal as Worcestershire's overseas player in mid-July, will fly home following the end of the current County Championship Division Two game against promotion rivals Surrey at New Road.