Middlesex are set to add more international class to their squad ahead of the start of the 2019 season with the signing of New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor.

The county’s planned assault on the Vitality Blast has already seen AB de Villiers and Mujeeb ur Rahman recruited, and veteran Kiwi Taylor will fill the void of losing Eoin Morgan for the Royal London One-Day Cup.

Like Morgan, Taylor is set to play a crucial role for his country at the Cricket World Cup and as part of his preparation the right-hander will play in the second half of fixtures in May for Middlesex.

It will be the fourth time the former Sussex and Nottinghamshire batsman has played at a World Cup, and he heads into it in fine fettle after a superb 18 months with the bat.

Taylor, 35, occupies third place in the ICC ODI rankings having scored eight half-centuries and three hundreds since the start of 2018.

A part of the team which lost the 2015 Cricket World Cup final to Australia, Taylor spoke very recently of his determination in the Blackcaps squad which has grown from that heartbreak.

“I think the last World Cup will play a big part in terms of experience and dealing with those big games,” he told Cricket New Zealand.

“We were pipped at the last one but I think the players will use that as motivation.

“The players are just a lot more experienced, still a lot of those guys who played in that final are in the side and hopefully we can go one step further in the UK.”