GENERAL Manager Dave Gilbert believes fellow Aussie Michael Di Venuto will make a big impression with Sussex Cricket Club this season even though he was not first choice to replace Michael Bevan.

The county's initial target was Damien Martyn, but they turned to to Di Venuto when Martyn regained his place in the Australian one-day side.

The claims of three other Australian batsmen, Queensland's Martin Love, Mike Hussey of West Australia and Victoria's James Siddons, as well as South African Adam Bacher and India's Vinod Kambli, were also considered before Sussex opted for Di Venuto.

The 25-year-old left-hander, whose father Enrico is Italian, will link-up with Sussex at the end of next month after agreeing a one-year contract.

Bevan has signed a new three-year deal, which ties him to Sussex until 2002, but he asked to opt out of the second year of his exsisting contract because of international commitments.

He is a certainty for Australia's squad for the World Cup in England in May and may also be involved in their tour of Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe which starts in August.

"There is an element of compromise to all this," admitted Gilbert.

"Bev would not have been available to us until the middle of June and he might only have played for two months which didn't make sense in such a critical season for us.

"We'll miss him but we're delighted he's committed himself to the club for three more years because he is an important part of our long-term plans."

Gilbert knows all about Di Venuto, having first encountered him as a 15-year-old in 1989 when he played club cricket for North Hobart during a stint with Tasmania.

He recalled: "I remember turning up at my first net session and his father, who was the coach, asked me to bowl at this kid in this damp, soft net. At first I refused but Enrico insisted.

"Michael didn't even wear a helmet and he took a few on the body because I didn't hold back. I thought then that he had guts and might be something special."

Sussex also spoke to fellow Tasmanian David Boon, currently captain of Durham, and Bevan before recruiting Di Venuto who played the last of his nine one-day internationals 14 months ago.

Aproduct of the Australian Cricket Academy, he averages 41.66 in first-class cricket and made 189 in last season's Sheffield Shield final before skippering Australia A on their tour of Scotland and Ireland.

Gilbert added: "Bev pushed the claims of Martyn all the way but once he got back into the one-day side it was too much of a risk with the World Cup coming up.

"We've done a lot of homework on Michael. David Boon rates him very highly, he's aggressive, can bat anywhere from one to six and has been used to good effect as a pinch-hitter in the one-dayers.

"He also bowls a bit of right-arm medium. I'd be amazed if he didn't do quite a bit of bowling this summer, especially in limited overs cricket.

Di Venuto will meet his new team-mates at the end of next month and will play in all the warm-up games before the opening Championship match against Lancashire on April 12.

"That period of acclimitisation is very important," added Gilbert. "We didn't want his first proper taste of English conditions on a dank, cold April morning at Old Trafford with Peter Martin and Ian Austin moving the ball all over the place."

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