He has played 30 Tests and 84 one-day internationals and more often than not looked head and shoulders above the rest of the West Indies bowling attack.

Yet despite that record, the arrival of Corey Collymore seems to have left a lot of Sussex supporters I spoke to at Hove over the weekend feeling distinctly underwhelmed.

I'm not sure why. True, the 30-year-old is going to need a few games to adjust to English conditions and the frenetic nature of the county schedule.

And he does not have the raw pace that the player he has replaced, Ryan Harris, suggested he had in his allto- brief spell with the county.

His batting record is modest to say the least and he will not add a great deal to Sussex in the field. But I think Mark Robinson may have pulled off a masterstroke with Collymore.

Like Mushtaq Ahmed five years ago, the Bajan arrives for his first proper stint in county cricket with a point to prove.

The current West Indies attack could not hold a candle to the likes of Roberts, Holding, Marshall, Garner and Croft who terrorised batsmen the world over during the 1980s.

So, at 30, Collymore will not feel that his days as a Test bowler are behind him, even though it is 11 months since he made the last of his 30 appearances.

Collymore could bowl himself back into contention for next winter's high-profile home series against England with consistent performances this summer, just as Mushtaq did in 2003. Who knows, he might boost his own profile enough to take some of the riches seemingly on offer to less talented bowlers in the Indian Premier League.

The Harris fiasco left Sussex short of seam-bowling firepower, a diminishing pool of potential replacements and little time to sort something out.

Collymore is a proven performer (remember he is the 11th-best bowler in the world according to the ICC rankings) and more importantly seems determined to make the most of this chance.

Sussex have only offered him a year initially but there is every incentive for Collymore to earn an extended contract, not least because it could give him the long-term financial security denied to those not playing for their country back in the Caribbean.

In an ideal world, Robinson would love to have promoted a fast bowler from the Academy or trusted his other seamers to do the job.

But the fact that Sussex have had to recruit quick bowlers from far and wide in recent years tells you all you need to know about the dearth of bowlers in the system.

And as the three Championship games have shown so far, the current attack will struggle to take 20 wickets, even when Mushtaq Ahmed is back to fitness.

Sussex have a pretty good record in overseas recruitment over recent years (even the unheralded Johan van der Wath won a couple of one-day games) and by September, I don't think anyone will have cause to complain about Collymore.

What do you make of Sussex's latest signing?