English county player Saif Zaib was superb for the Phoenix in 2017-18, with Indian Saurabh Bandekar and Zimbabwean Tarisai Musakanda even more impressive the following two years.

The club has just signed former Indian Premier League batsman Shoaib Shaikh as the assistant coach in a three-year deal.

"Shoaib will bat at three and we really think we can build a team around him," Green said.

"To be honest, down the track, my whole philosophy is that we don't want to have gun international cricketers, but we want to use them to get where we need to.

"We want to be able to rely on our homegrown talent, but you just can't get there, it's very difficult to get big-name players to transfer from other clubs.

"Shoaib is in for a long-term deal and we believe he can help the young blokes to mature and we can build a really formidable side around him."

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As well as playing a high level back home in India, Shaikh has also played extensive cricket in the UK.

He spent last season with Mooroopna and topped the A grade run aggregate by a neat 100, posting 444 runs with four half-centuries.