LONDON, CMC – English County Derbyshire have snapped up out-of-favour West Indies pacer Ravi Rampaul on a three-year deal.
The Trinidadian, who last represented the Caribbean side in any format two years ago, has been signed as a non-overseas player and will be available for all formats, the club announced.
It means Rampaul has ruled himself out of next year’s Caribbean Premier League, where he has turned out for Barbados Tridents in recent seasons.
“I’m grateful to Derbyshire for giving me this opportunity to extend my career in England and play across all forms,” said the 32-year-old Rampaul.
“The club has ambitious plans for the years ahead and I’m excited by what we can achieve. Hopefully I can play my part, not only on the field helping to win games of cricket, but also help the younger guys in the dressing room.”
Rampaul turned out for Surrey last season, grabbing 18 wickets at an average of 24 to help the London club reach the final of the Royal London One-Day Cup where they eventually lost to Nottinghamshire.
However, he featured in just two County Championship games, taking three wickets and claimed four wickets in as many T20 matches.
A member of the successful Windies squad which won the T20 World Cup five years ago, Rampaul has also played 18 Tests and 92 One-Day Internationals but has fallen out of favour in recently times.
Derbyshire’s Cricket Advisor, Kim Barnett said he expected the club to benefit greatly from Rampaul’s experience.
“We identified new ball bowling as an area we wanted to strengthen for 2018, and we’re delighted to secure someone of the calibre of Ravi,” he said.
“He is highly skilled and vastly experienced, with over 100 internationals under his belt, and he will give us the additional firepower we needed alongside the likes of Hardus Viljoen and Will Davis.”
He added: “Ravi will be available for all forms and has committed to Derbyshire full time, ruling out any clashes with the CPL during the English domestic season.
“It’s a massive coup for the club and shows our intent that we want to build on the progress we made in 2017 and kick on in 2018 and beyond.”
