GLOUCESTERSHIRE have named Michael Klinger as their new captain and overseas player for the 2013 season.

The 32-year-old South Australia batsman, who has also represented Victoria and Australia A, will join the club for the start of the campaign and is available for all three domestic competitions.

Melbourne-born Klinger has scored nearly 6,000 first class runs at an average of 37.25 and with a top score of 255. He averages 41.20 in List A cricket and 26.18 in Twenty20 matches.

Klinger moved from Victoria to South Australia for the 2008-09 season and his impressive performances over the following two seasons saw him appointed captain.

He also has captaincy experience with Australia under-19s, where his deputy was current Australia captain Michael Clarke.

Klinger has played in the Indian Premier League, having been bought by Kochi Tuskers Kerala for $75,000 in 2011, and had a brief spell at Worcestershire last season.

The experienced right-handed opening batsman will succeed Alex Gidman, who stepped down at the end of last season, as Gloucestershire skipper.

Gloucestershire director of cricket John Bracewell said: "We are delighted to be signing a player of Michael's quality and experience.

"He has proved himself adept at all forms of the game and has captaincy experience. We expect him to be available throughout the 2013 season.

"It is not easy to find overseas players who tick all those boxes and a lot of work has gone into finding the right man."

Gloucestershire chief executive, Tom Richardson added: "This is good news and I am sure he will add a lot of value to the club. "We are now looking towards signing a second overseas player for the FLt20 campaign."