Henry signs up for Derbyshire Blast campaign

Derbyshire's new T20 coach, John Wright, has made his first contribution to the club's NatWest Blast campaign by identifying New Zealand quick Matt Henry as an overseas signing. Henry is expected to be available for the duration of the T20 Blast in July and August.

Henry is a regular in New Zealand's white-ball squads and has previously played in England for Worcestershire. He was bought by Kings XI Punjab in last month's IPL auction.

"I really enjoyed my time in England last year and I'm excited to be returning to represent Derbyshire," Henry said. "The county has some exciting plans in the NatWest T20 Blast under John Wright. They're determined to improve and advance to the knockout stages, and I hope I can play my part in a successful campaign."

Derbyshire have already brought in Imran Tahir - the No. 1-ranked T20 and ODI bowler - as their main overseas player for the second half of the season; Sri Lanka's Jeevan Mendis will fill the role from April through to the end of the Champions Trophy in June.

They have also signed South Africa fast bowler Hardus Viljoen on a Kolpak deal, as well as recruiting Gary Wilson and Luis Reece. On Tuesday, they announced the arrival of allrounder Daryn Smit from South Africa.

Derbyshire's director of cricket, Kim Barnett, said: "I've been liaising with John Wright and Matt was one of his first picks. He came highly recommended as a fast bowler and also someone with a high strike rate with the bat down the order.

"One of John's key areas for this summer's competition is to keep the runs down, and with the attack we've assembled, which also includes Hardus Viljoen and Imran Tahir, we've given ourselves the best chance of doing this. Matt has plenty of experience around the world, internationally and here in England with Worcestershire last season. He knows our conditions well and we look forward to him joining us."