Vernon Philander is set for his Nottinghamshire first-class debut in the LV= County Championship opener against Middlesex which commences on Sunday.
The South Africa international is joined in Mick Newell's 13-man squad by fellow new signings Brendan Taylor, Will Gidman and Greg Smith as Nottinghamshire aim to win at Lord's for the first time in the championship since 2006.
Of the travelling 13 man squad, only Samit Patel played for Mick Newell's men in that victory, which came by an innings and 25 runs having posted a mammoth total of 642.
The left-arm spinning all-rounder batted at number five in the previous match against Loughborough MCCU, and his presence in the upper echelons of the order will allow Newell to select four of his five travelling fast bowlers; Philander, Gidman, Harry Gurney, Jake Ball and Luke Fletcher.
For Middlesex, Tim Murtagh, who took 58 first-class wickets in 2014, has recovered from the injury that kept him out of the ICC Cricket World Cup with Ireland and - with Steven Finn, Toby Roland-Jones, James Harris and James Franklin all competing for places - Newell expects Middlesex to select a similarly weighty contingent of fast bowling for the match.
He hopes the recent additions of Philander and former Zimbabwe batsman Brendan Taylor might tip the balance in favour of the visitors.
"It's the home of MCC and Middlesex don't have a huge say in what goes on in terms of pitches," he said.
"Both teams will be strong seam bowling teams and that will be a challenge for the two batting groups, to try and dominate the opposition's bowling.
"We kind of knew where we were heading with our 13 and that's what we've got for this weekend - and it's been great to add, in the last week, two world class cricketers to our squad.
"Hopefully both Brendan and Vernon can have a good period with us, obviously different timescales for the two of them, but I'm looking forward to the impact they can make.
"Vernon's got huge experience from playing in international cricket. He's played in a recent World Cup and has a lot of Test matches behind him.
"He's also rated as one of the top ten bowlers in Test cricket and it's fantastic to have that kind of quality in our team."
Coming up against Nottinghamshire with the bat, former England opener Nick Compton will play for Middlesex for the first time in five years after rejoining his former county from Somerset.
Compton boasts an impressive record against Newell's men having scored three centuries, one of them a double-hundred, in 11 career appearances against the Trent Bridge county, averaging 64.76.
"He's also rated as one of the top ten bowlers in Test cricket and it's fantastic to have that kind of quality in our team." Mick Newell on Vernon Philander
Notts, meanwhile, have the ultimate inside-track in relation to Middlesex's captain and overseas player Adam Voges, with the majority of the squad having played alongside him during four seasons at Trent Bridge from 2008 to 2011.
The 35-year-old Australian comes into the English county season on the back of the summer of his life down under - 1358 Sheffield Shield runs at 104.46 having earned him a maiden Test call-up for the series against the West Indies and for the Ashes.
International selection will cut Voges' spell with Middlesex short, he is only expected to feature in the opening four games. However, with an Australia starting 11 to break into and Ashes ambitions to fulfil, it will be a run-hungry former teammate that Nottinghamshire face in this fixture.
Newell believes familiarity with Voges and Franklin could play a part, but he is confident that his charges are fully prepared for the challenge ahead and admits that - first and foremost - he will enjoy catching up with two valued former colleagues.
"They will be quite well informed; James played here as recently as last year so he knows just about everybody.
"We know a lot about them as players and they know a lot about our players - but it will be really nice to see them, that's the first thing to say.
"They are two blokes that left the club in a good place and we're very happy that they have moved on to other things.
"We've been very lucky to have good weather and good practice facilities here at Trent Bridge. Everything we did in Barbados was terrific as well," Newell continued.
"We've had some good cricket, we've played some decent sides, Loughborough University battled very hard which was nice to see, now we're ready to play. It's up to us to start to put on good performances.
"Some people have had better days than others - that's the nature of the game. But we were fairly clear on our squad a little while ago and nothing much has changed from that, although the guys who are in the squad on Sunday know how well the other lads are performing."
Nottinghamshire squad to face Middlesex (from): Jake Ball, Luke Fletcher, Will Gidman, Harry Gurney, Alex Hales, Steven Mullaney, Samit Patel, Vernon Philander, Chris Read, Greg Smith, Brendan Taylor, James Taylor and Riki Wessels.
The excitement of the NatWest T20 Blast returns to Trent Bridge in May as Notts Outlaws hope to break the 10,000 barrier for the arrival of reigning champions Birmingham Bears on Friday 15 May.
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