Charl Langeveldt, the South African fast bowler, is set to join Derbyshire for their Friends Provident Twenty20 campaign. Langeveldt, who had a successful stint with Derbyshire two seasons ago, will return to the county, pending the completion of the necessary paperwork with Cricket South Africa, and the obtaining of a work permit.
Once the deal is complete, Langeveldt will be registered as an overseas player for the domestic Twenty20 competition, alongside Loots Bosman. Their presence means Chris Rogers, Derbyshire's Australian captain, would then be given a break after more than two years of non-stop cricket spread between England and Australia, with Greg Smith set to captain the Twenty20 squad.
"Charl is a vastly experienced campaigner and one of the very best in the world at bowling in the short form of the game," said John Morris, Derbyshire's Head of Cricket. "I hope he can help us achieve results in the competition in 2010, but our young bowlers can also learn a lot from his methods and execution, especially when bowling in those all important death and powerplay overs."
Langeveldt's proposed signing comes after a World Twenty20 campaign in which the bowler excelled despite his team's early exit. Only Dirk Nannes took more wickets than him in the competition and Langevedlt's economy rate of 6.50 was better than anybody else in the top five wicket-takers.
Derbyshire have also secured the services of Wes Durston for the tournament. Durston, 29, ran to a blistering hundred as the Unicorns - a team made up of the best un-contracted cricketers in the country - chased down a record 326 to beat Sussex in their Clydesdale Bank 40 match at Arundel last week.
Durston cracked 117 from just 68 deliveries in that match, and his innings grabbed Derbyshire's attention as they looked to bolster their batting line-up ahead of the domestic Twenty20 competition.
"Wes put himself in the shop window for counties with his magnificent innings against Sussex and we are delighted to have secured his services for our Twenty20 campaign," said Morris.
"Form and confidence are very important in cricket, particularly the short forms of the game, and Wes is brimming with both at the present time. He will add competition for places in our batting line-up and that can only be healthy as we strive for a successful campaign."
Durston previously spent eight seasons with Somerset from 2002 to 2009, averaging 38.35 in first-class cricket as well as scoring 386 runs in 38 Twenty20 appearances. He will be available to Derbyshire throughout the Friends Provident Twenty20 competition, but will not be considered for County Championship selection.