Tasmanian paceman Ben Hilfenhaus has opened the door to joining Gloucestershire as the county's 2009 overseas player – but is unlikely to be available for the whole summer.

Gloucestershire have made no secret of their desire to recruit an overseas fast bowler and approached Hilfenhaus in September.

The 25-year-old international hopeful is his state's leading fast bowler and one of the hottest properties in Australian domestic cricket.

This winter alone, Hilfenhaus has again proved his class with a devastating spell of 5-14, and match figures of 7-59, in Tasmania's opening Sheffield Shield fixture against Queensland in Brisbane last month.

Hilfenhaus has taken 15 first-class wickets at the ridiculously low average of 14.13 in three Shield matches and is hoping that form like that will earn him more opportunities in international cricket against New Zealand and South Africa in the Southern Hemisphere this winter.

A solitary Twenty20 international against England in Sydney nearly two years ago followed by a maiden one-day international appearance against New Zealand is the sum total of Hilfenhaus' Australia career to date, but the former builder has never been far away from the national selectors' thoughts – to the detriment of his county availability.

"I've had some county offers in the past and its nice when a team like Gloucestershire is aware of my performances for Tasmania," Hilfenhaus said.

"At this stage, my focus is on getting through the season for Tasmania and staying fit. I want to be consistent in every form of the game and to keep improving.

"I've said before that I would be open to the possibility of playing county cricket for a shorter stint instead of a whole season, and that's pretty much how I feel about playing for Gloucestershire next year.

"I won't be making any decisions about county cricket until the end of the season for Tasmania (in March 2009) and my manager will keep Gloucestershire informed of my progress."

The 2007 Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year is only the second fast bowler from Tasmania to represent Australia.

In 2006-07 Hilfenhaus took 60 four-day wickets at 25.38 – the third most in the competition's history – after bowling nearly 200 more overs than his quick bowling contemporaries. Last year he struggled to make a similar impact – with 28 four-day wickets at a 43.82 apiece – but the selectors named him in Australia's squad to tour the West Indies earlier this year. However, a recurrence of back stress fractures cost him the chance of a Test debut.