Worcestershire have boosted their spin attack by signing Gareth Batty from Surrey.

The 24-year-old was last season's ECB Second XI Player of the Year and Surrey's Young Player of the Year, but his first team opportunities were limited at The Oval.

He has only played three first-class matches, but has performed usefully with both bat and ball in one-day cricket.

"Gareth is a very talented cricketer and he's had invaluable experience at Surrey under the likes of Saqlain Mushtaq and Ian Salisbury," said Worcestershire Director of Cricket Tom Moody.

"We are lucky to get him at this point in his career because he is ripe for the picking.

"It was only the lack of first-class opportunity that made him think twice about where he was in his career."

Batty was born in Bradford and was of Yorkshire's staff before joining Surrey in 1998.

He is Worcestershire's second new face following the recent acquisition of former Leicestershire batsman Ben Smith.