Glenn Maxwell has signed for Surrey – and will make his debut against his former Hampshire teammates later this month.

Maxwell’s first game for Surrey will be at The Ageas Bowl on June 26, the night the Royals begin their Friends Life t20 defence.

The Australian was the catalyst for Hampshire’s t20 success last year, scoring 66* (32 balls) at Kent and 60* (24 balls) at Essex to fire the Royals into the knockout stages.

His 264 runs at 37.7 for Hampshire came from only 134 balls (an outstanding strike rate of 197) and including three appearances for the county at the Champions League in October.

Maxwell’s Hampshire stint was one chapter of a remarkable year that included his first appearance at the Indian Premier League, a stint for South Wilts in the Southern Electric Premier League and his one-day international and Twenty20 international debuts for Australia.

He made his Test debut earlier this year and then became the IPL’s most expensive signing when he was bought by Mumbai Indians for $1m.

The 24 year-old will be playing at least the first seven games of Surrey’s campaign, alongside Ricky Ponting.