Hampshire have signed former Nottinghamshire batsman Bilal Shafayat on a short-term deal.
The former England under-19 captain, who was released by Notts in 2010, has been part of Hampshire's second XI squad for the last two seasons.
Having been registered, Shafayat will be available on a match-by-match basis for the first XI if required, although he has no formal contract with the club, and has been added to the squad to potentially face Derbyshire in the County Championship this week.
The game had been due to start on Wednesday but no play was possible due to rain. The sides will try again to get the action under way on Thursday.
Hampshire manager Giles White said: "Bilal will provide back-up for our batting line-up over the next few games.
"Having missed Jimmy Adams and Michael Carberry for different reasons in the last few matches we thought it wise to have some additional strength in depth in case of any further losses.
"Bilal has proven a very able cricketer in our second XI, as well as for Nottinghamshire, so I'm sure he'll be able to step into the side should he be required."
