Australian batsman Michael Klinger will captain English county team Gloucestershire next season.

The 32-year-old South Australian top-order batsman, who has represented Australia A and previously played for Victoria, will replace Alex Gidman following his resignation at the end of the 2012 campaign.

Klinger has scored 5,849 runs at 37.25 across 98 first-class matches and 3,706 runs at 41.17 in List A cricket.

He played for Worcestershire last season as a stand-in for compatriot Phil Hughes, averaging 29.30 across 11 innings and scoring two half-centuries.

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.”

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.”