Lancashire sign New Zealand duo Daryl Mitchell and Colin De Grandhomme

The New Zealand all-rounder, Daryl Mitchell, and the former New Zealand all-rounder, Colin De Grandhomme, have signed a contract with Lancashire for the entirety of the T20 blast as well as some county games.

Interestingly, another overseas player in South Africa's Dane Vilas, who has been a vital cog in the Lancashire squad stepped down from captaincy but still serves the club.

Mark Chilton, the Director of cricket performance, spoke about the two signings completed by the county side. He said, “We are really excited to add both Daryl and Colin to our squad and to be able to do so for such a large portion of the 2023 season – which was a key factor for us when looking to make overseas additions this year."

Chilton then spoke about their importance and how they can be very helpful during a busy schedule, whereby they have to play many continuous matches. He elaborated, “The schedule, as it has been for the last few years, continues to be really challenging particularly in the middle part of the summer throughout May, June and July, due to the amount of cricket we are playing in a short period. With that in mind, we want to ensure we've got enough strength in depth to cover for all eventualities and Daryl and Colin provide us with exactly that.”

He further then spoke about the duration for which the duo will be available for Lancashire and how many matches they will be playing. Chilton continued, “Colin will be with us from the very start against Surrey in the County Championship before Daryl joins up in mid-May. The pair will then both be available throughout our Vitality Blast campaign and, alongside Dane Vilas, provide us with plenty of options for different matches and scenarios."

The recruitment of the New Zealand duo adds to the squad depth of the Lancashire squad and can be very useful for them during the busy schedule. Their overseas tally has increased to three now. It will be interesting to see what the two Kiwis bring on to the Lancashire side and their impact in the upcoming county stint.

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