NEW SIGNINGS

Duanne Olivier signed as Derbyshire's overseas player

by Rob Johnston • Published on

Duanne Olivier has played five Tests for South Africa © Getty

Derbyshire have signed South African fast-bowler Duanne Olivier as their overseas player for the first half of the 2018 county season, the club confirmed on Wednesday (February 21).

The 25-year-old will be available for the first seven of Derbyshire's County Championship matches as well as the whole of the Royal London One-Day Cup, pending the approval of Cricket South Africa. The county had previously been in contact with Olivier's fellow South African Vernon Philander as they sought out a high-class overseas opening bowler although those discussions came to nothing.

Olivier is a tall bowler with an unusual, jolty action but he generates decent pace, offers good control and has a healthy appetite for hard work. He has impressed on his international appearances to date following his Test debut against Sri Lanka at Johannesburg last year. In all, he has taken 17 wickets at 23.11 from five matches and played two Tests against England last summer, giving him some experience of English conditions.

Although he has yet to make his limited overs debut for South Africa, he has a good List A record with 45 wickets from 34 matches at an economy rate of just over five runs an over. Olivier will likely share the new ball with Hardus Viljoen, his fellow countryman, who Derbyshire signed last year on a Kolpak deal or West Indian Ravi Rampaul who has recently joined the county from Surrey, also on a Kolpak contract.

Derbyshire Cricket Advisor, Kim Barnett said: "We're delighted to sign Duanne for the first half of the season. He comes highly recommended and will offer further depth to our seam attack. We identified new ball bowling as an area we wanted to strengthen, especially for the first half of the season in red and white ball cricket. He is a tall, quick bowler who is keen to prove himself and he will give us another quality option with the ball."

Last week, Derbyshire, whose strategy over the past two seasons has been to bolster their bowling options in search of more victories in the four-day game, announced the signing of New Zealand left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner for the second half of the season, including the whole of the Vitality T20 Blast as well as the remaining seven Championship fixtures.

© Cricbuzz

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