McDermott joins Lancashire for Blast, McAndrew heads to Glamorgan

Ben McDermott, the Australian wicketkeeper-batter, will join Lancashire for the T20 Blast this summer after three seasons with Hampshire.

McDermott did not feature in the Blast last season but spent three years with Hampshire from 2022-24, scoring 10 half-centuries in 43 innings. He was Player of the Match when they beat his new employers in the 2022 final, top-scoring with 62, and was involved in a controversial final ball as Lancashire argued that an umpiring error had cost them the title.

Lancashire often find themselves without their international players during the latter stages of the Blast, which this summer will clash with England's white-ball series against India. As a result, they have prioritised availability in their overseas recruitment, with both McDermott and his compatriot Chris Green committing to the full season, from May 26 until July 18.

Mark Chilton, Lancashire's director of cricket, said McDermott had been a long-term target. "Ben is a very versatile batter in T20 cricket," Chilton said. "He's done a lot of batting in the top three during his career, but in more recent times he's dropped into a No. 4 or 5 role, with a strong record against spin.

"Availability was another key parameter for us, and Ben being around for the whole competition meant that he was ticking a lot of boxes and was right at the top of our shortlist."

McDermott said: "The Blast is a competition I've always enjoyed during my previous spells in England with Hampshire… I'm excited to get over to Manchester, meet the lads and play my part in what I hope will be a really successful season for us in T20 cricket."

Lancashire have also added Ajeet Singh Dale (Gloucestershire) and Paul Coughlin (Durham) to their squad in the off-season, while Liam Livingstone has committed to a new three-year deal after his England contract expired. The club announced last week that Kabir Ali has replaced Craig White as men's bowling coach.

Elsewhere, Glamorgan have announced the signing of Australian seamer Nathan McAndrew as their second overseas player for the Blast, alongside the veteran South African batter Colin Ingram. McAndrew has taken 44 Blast wickets for Sussex over the past three seasons, returning figures of 6 for 21 and 5 for 19 in his two appearances against Glamorgan last summer.

"Nathan has been one of the best performers in domestic cricket around the world over the last few years and we're delighted that he's able to join Glamorgan for a key period of the season," Mark Wallace, Glamorgan's director of cricket, said. "Having someone with his experience of county cricket is very important and we're looking forward to welcoming him to Wales."

McAndrew will also be available for two County Championship fixtures within the Blast's window.

Glamorgan have not qualified for the knockout stages of the Blast since 2017 but have already bolstered their T20 side for this summer with the recruitment of Sean Dickson from Somerset.

The club recently announced that Ian Harvey has signed a full-time deal as Richard Dawson's assistant coach, after working under him on a part-time basis last summer. Harvey is spending this month working under Nepal coach Stuart Law at the T20 World Cup.