Sussex have signed New Zealand international Tom Bruce for their Twenty20 campaign.

He makes his debut in the tour fixture against the Australian Aboriginal XI at Hove on Friday (3pm).

Sussex hope Bruce helps them cope without Stiaan van Zyl, who looks set to miss the competition with a knee problem.

The Argus revealed on Monday that Jason Gillespie was lining up an overseas signing for T20 cricket.

Sharks coach Gillespie said today: “We have secured Tom's services for our whole Vitality Blast campaign, which we are pretty excited about.

“He has been playing some league cricket in Surrey and hit 172 off about 100 balls for Surrey 2nd XI against our 2nd XI a few weeks back.

“He goes pretty hard, looks to get the scoreboard ticking pretty quick.

“We think he will be great in the dressing room.

“He is excited about it and part of our agreement is he has made himself available for all our practice games leading into the Blast so the lads will get to know him.”

Right-hander Bruce, 26, has played 14 T20 internationals for the Black Caps, averaging 18.83 at a strike rate of 128.4 runs per 100 balls.