Derbyshire sign Dupavillon to fill Amir vacancy

Derbyshire have signed Daryn Dupavillon, the South African seamer, as an overseas player for the majority of the 2024 season. Dupavillon effectively replaces Mohammad Amir, whose international recall will limit him to six appearances for the county in the T20 Blast.

Dupavillon is expected to join Derbyshire in time for their County Championship fixture against Sussex, which starts on May 3, following his commitments with the Dolphins franchise in South African domestic cricket. The club say he will be available across formats until the penultimate Championship fixture of the season in mid-September.

He joins Blair Tickner, the New Zealand international, as one of two overseas fast bowlers in the Derbyshire squad for the first three months of the season. Tickner will feature in the Championship and the first eight Blast group games, before Amir replaces him after the T20 World Cup.

Amir blindsided Derbyshire last month when he reversed his international retirement, three-and-a-half years after his most recent appearance for Pakistan. He was initially due to play for Derbyshire as an overseas player but had been exploring the possibility of becoming a local player through his marriage.

"We felt we needed one more fast bowler to be part of our attack, particularly in red-ball cricket, and Daryn is an experienced option who will bring real pace and skill into the fold," Mickey Arthur, Derbyshire's head of cricket, said. "I'm delighted to welcome a player of Daryn's quality, he is highly regarded in the South African game and has experience in international and franchise cricket. He will be a real asset for us in all forms of the game.

"We have a very strong squad for the coming season, with Blair Tickner being here for the first half of the campaign, Daryn coming in from May and we're keen to have Mohammad Amir for the second half of the Vitality Blast, after the T20 World Cup."

This will be Dupavillon's first stint in county cricket. He said: "I'm really excited to be joining Derbyshire, I'm not sure there's a cricketer around who would not want to work with a coach like Mickey Arthur, and the opportunity to play in England is one I want to make the most of.

"Mickey has spoken to me about the ambition he has for the club and there's some real quality in the squad, so I'm looking forward to getting started and helping to put some positive results on the board."

Derbyshire's season had a false start last week, with a four-day wash-out at home to Gloucestershire. They will hope the weather allows them to get on the pitch in the second round of games from Friday, when they play Glamorgan in Cardiff.