County cricket transfers round-up: The three teams targeting Shoaib Bashir and the unusual advice he got from England, the international spinners on Kent's radar, an Australia star Warwickshire want to poach and a class act tempting Yorkshire

Shoaib Bashir has been advised not to make demands on playing time during his search for a new county.

Bashir is in the unusual position of being England’s established Test spinner, but a free agent at domestic level after his Somerset deal expired four weeks ago. The 22-year-old’s primary focus remains the Ashes, but with uncertainty on his future rumbling away in the background, England bosses have told him no guarantees on selection are required when speaking to prospective employers.

During his three seasons at Taunton, he made just 10 County Championship appearances and was farmed out on loan for a single appearance with Worcestershire in 2024 and three for Glamorgan last summer.

Daily Mail Sport understands Rob Key, England’s director of men’s cricket, has encouraged the 19-cap off-spinner, who grew up in Surrey, to find a new home that suits him geographically, rather than concern himself with being a club’s No 1 spinner. 

It might mean creativity is required next summer if he continues to miss out on selection at county level - but, in the worst case scenario, an England Lions programme including two first-class matches would provide both a high-level environment and competitive matches to prepare for series against New Zealand and Pakistan.

This is not new territory for Bashir, who despite his international status played second fiddle at Somerset to slow left-armer Jack Leach, and was also overtaken by rival off-spinner Archie Vaughan, whose high promise with the ball is coupled with top-order batting ability.

Aside from well-regarded rivals, Bashir’s other problem - in looking for a deal that will not see him remunerated in 2026 as his full wages are covered by a central contract - is his own anomalous Championship record. 

A return of 68 Test victims at 39 runs apiece is perfectly adequate for a bowler of such modest age, but it is for a collection of 18 wickets at 84 at county level that he will be judged by county coaches. 

He has also had to reduce his expectation on contract length: Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Essex have all shown interest since June 1, but were perhaps put off by the prospect of a multi-year agreement.

Teenager Vaughan, who began 2025 as England Under-19 captain and is currently playing Sydney grade cricket for Mosman, has agreed a new three-year contract and is part of an energetic younger core at Taunton that includes the Rew brothers, James and Thomas. 

Both Rews are in Australia with the England Lions, although 21-year-old James has not yet been selected for match action, and has therefore been usurped by his 17-year-old sibling behind the stumps, amid concerns over his fitness. 

It is a surprising development, not least because regardless of measurements such as skin fold, Rew senior is known to be one of Somerset’s best performers in physical and aerobic testing.

Spin has been an area Kent have identified in a bid to improve on last year’s wooden spoon, but Matt Parkinson, the ex-England leg-spinner who has recently signed a one-year extension that will take him until the end of the 2027 season at Canterbury, is set to be joined by an overseas arrival. 

South Africa all-rounder Senuran Muthusamy, who struck a maiden Test hundred against India this week, is understood to be one of their two main targets along with his fellow left-armer Matthew Kuhnemann, of Australia.

Muthusamy, 31, entered this week’s Test in Guwahati with a CV including 277 first-class wickets at 28, plus a batting average of 31. 

Kuhnemann, meanwhile, is Nathan Lyon’s Test understudy and has appeared for Australia in all three formats this year, finishing as their most prolific bowler in the 2-0 win in Sri Lanka - a series that saw him reported for a suspect action. 

The 29-year-old, who took 16 wickets in two matches there, had never previously come under scrutiny and was cleared following independent testing in Brisbane when it was determined that his elbow extension was within the 15-degree tolerance.

Kuhnemann played a one-off match for Glamorgan last summer - simultaneously covering the absence of Ben Kellaway, who was sitting university exams, and preparing for Australia’s World Test Championship final versus South Africa - having previously had a spell with Durham ended by a back injury.

Meanwhile, David Bedingham - arguably Durham’s best overseas player given a record including 16 first-class hundreds and an average of 54.45 - is understood to be on Yorkshire’s radar after his long-term agreement at Chester-le-Street ran out. 

Moving to Headingley would allow the 31-year-old South Africa international to remain in the top flight following Durham’s relegation, and he would add batting depth to a Yorkshire squad that has lost ex-England batsman Dawid Malan by mutual consent despite 12 months of his contract remaining.

Another seasoned county performer, Mohammad Abbas, could return to Nottinghamshire, following discussions between director of cricket Mick Newell, coach Peter Moores and captain Haseeb Hameed, who made clear that re-signing uncapped Australian seamer Fergus O’Neill, 24, should be the priority. 

O’Neill - viewed as a catalyst for the 2025 Division One title success - has been snapped up for three-month spells in both 2026 and 2027. 

With his stay scheduled between April and June, and Proteas wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne back at Trent Bridge for the full season, the Championship import slot from July to September needs finalising.

The future of Daniel Sams, the Australian who finished as the Outlaws’ leading wicket-taker in last season’s Vitality Blast, is unclear, with Warwickshire identifying him as a potential missing piece in their short format jigsaw.

One Aussie who is definitely switching clubs, though, is Ashton Turner, who had a disappointing time by his high standards at Lancashire in 2025 and is set to join Leicestershire.