Derbyshire acquire Dupavillon to fill Amir void

Just a day after Mohammad Amir was called up for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which means that his surprise international recall limits him to six appearances in the T20 Blast 2024, Derbyshire acquired Daryn Dupavillon.

Following the South African's commitments with the Dolphins in the domestic circuit of the Proteas, Dupavillon is anticipated to link up with Derbyshire before their County Championship fixture against Sussex, scheduled to commence on May 3.

According to the club's statement, Dupavillon will be eligible for selection across formats until the penultimate Championship fixture of the season in mid-September. He will be tagging along with New Zealander Blair Tickner, as one of the two overseas pacers for the first three months of the season. Before Amir comes back after the T20 World Cup 2024 to replace Tickner, he will be involved in the Championship and the first eight group-stage games of the T20 Blast 2024.

Derbyshire's Head of Cricket, Mickey Arthur, felt the need to include one more fast bowler other than Tickner, particularly for the red-ball format, with him reckoning Dupavillon to be quite seasoned who brings pace and expertise along with him. Having quite a lot of experience embedded within him, with Dupavillon having played 77 FC games, 34 List A matches, and 59 T20s, Arthur foreboded Dupavillom to be a bonus for Derbyshire.

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"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. 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," Arthur was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. 

Dupavillon, who has never played county cricket before, said that he was thrilled to be joining Derbyshire, with him also eager to work with a distinguished coach such as Arthur as well as wanting to make the most of the opportunity to play cricket in England.

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"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," Dupavillon stated.

He also remarked that he had had a word with Arthur, who let the South African know about the intentions he had set out to achieve for Derbyshire, with there being a lot of calibre in the squad, and that he wanted to contribute to the club's success by coming up with significant performances.