HAMPSHIRE new boys Andre Adams and Jackson Bird are ready to bowl together for the first time ahead of the LV County Championship opener against Sussex.

Overseas signing Bird and veteran seamer Adams will both bowl at The Ageas Bowl today as Hampshire end their pre-season friendlies with a day in the field against Kent.

After flying in from Australia and New Zealand respectively, Bird and Adams will be readjusting to English conditions with the start of the Championship only four days away.

Adams, 39, had a cortisone injection on his right elbow last week to give himself the best possible chance of playing against Sussex on Sunday. And Bird is relishing his first taste of county cricket after a long-term back injury forced him to pull out of a similar stint with Northants last year.

Adams, who has also undergone knee surgery during the winter, said: “I’ve had to have surgery get the body right again and that’s all going in the right direction. The jab was only the second of my career, and in the same place.

“I was going to play [in Auckland’s last game] last week, but having a jab was better for Hampshire. As long as I can bowl pain free that’s the important thing so the jab was the number one priority.

“It’s got me to a place where it’s manageable, once I start playing it frees up.

“The surgery on the knee was the big one but it’s amazing what they can do nowadays – I was able to walk on it the next day!”

Adams knee op was a clear out following a small tear to cartilage tissue.

“It happened at the end of last season but wasn’t really diagnosed till I got home, but once it was diagnosed it was pretty straightforward,” he said. Adams has a signed a three-month deal to play in the LV County Championship. He hopes to play in the first ten of Hampshire’s 16 Championship matches. “If I get a run on and keep going there’s no reason to stop,” he said.

Bird, 28, has also signed a three-month deal and will also be bowling in a Hampshire shirt for the first time today.

“It’s nice to finally get over here after unfortunately getting injured before I was meant to play for Northants,” said the Tasmanian, who took 18 wickets at 33.2 in Australia’s Sheffield Shield since making his comeback in November, after eight months out.

“As the season went on I got more confidence in my body and I’ve definitely brought that confidence over here,” he said. “I’m just excited to be on the park after 18 months on and off.”