Sam Northeast makes Nottinghamshire his third county of the season on short-term deal

Sam Northeast will make Nottinghamshire his third county of the summer after signing a short-term deal to play for them in the divisional rounds of the County Championship.

Northeast started the season with scores of 63 and 118 in Hampshire's second match against Middlesex but his form tailed off and he was dropped from their T20 Blast side after making 6 off 12 balls against Kent in their opening game.

He was left out of matchday squads over the next few weeks before the county put out a short statement confirming he had been released from the last 18 months of his contract by mutual consent.

He briefly joined Yorkshire in July after their squad was decimated by England call-ups, making 3 and 1 in the Championship fixture against Northamptonshire and not facing a ball between the Blast fixture at Trent Bridge and the abandoned four-day game at Headingley.

He has not played in the last six weeks during the Hundred and will play for Notts' seconds against Derbyshire this week to prepare for the final stages of the Championship season.

Notts were looking for a top-order batter after Haseeb Hameed's Test recall, and Mick Newell, their director of cricket described him as "a proven run-scorer" who "will bolster our chances in red-ball cricket during the coming weeks."

Northeast, 31, is expected to attract a number of counties this winter despite his lean season. He was widely regarded as England's best uncapped batter for several years towards the end of his Kent career and while his T20 returns have dried up, he is an excellent 50-over player.