Logan van Beek says he will arrive at Derbyshire ahead of the 2019 season eager to prove himself and earn further international recognition with New Zealand.
The all-rounder, who has represented New Zealand at Under-19 level as well as through development squads, feels he is now ready to push for a spot in the full national side.
He will be available for all forms throughout the summer for Derbyshire and is looking forward ton testing himself in different conditions in England.
He said: “I’ve always seen county cricket as somewhere I’d love to go and play.
“In my short stints playing club cricket in England I’ve watched games and seen how well supported they are.
“That’s something we do miss a bit in New Zealand and I’m really looking forward to experiencing it and the chance to compete in a new environment and different conditions.
“Through my father I have a Dutch passport and fortunately had opportunities to play for the Netherlands, which has been an awesome experience.
“But in the last year or so I’ve really come on with my game and have started to get attention from the New Zealand selectors back home.
“It’s a childhood dream to play for New Zealand and it’s something I’m pushing for.
“By playing the amount of cricket that a county season has, hopefully I can find form and push my name forward.”
A talented all-round sportsman, he admits it took him a while to understand his game, but he would now like nothing more than to contribute to wins for Derbyshire and get his name noticed once again.
Van Beek added: “Growing up I played a lot of sports and I played professional basketball up in Auckland, but got drawn back to Canterbury to play cricket.
“I was actually a wicketkeeper until I was 18, but then found out I could bowl pretty fast and it developed from there.
“It took me a few years to understand what I was doing with the ball, but it was more of a mindset thing than anything.
“I just assumed that talent and hard work would get me to the top, but it was the mindset which I needed to work on more than anything.
“If I played well I was really high and if I didn’t I was really low and that wasn’t sustainable.
“As well making a change to Wellington, with their backing and a new environment, things have clicked a lot better and it’s a long journey.
“For some guys it clicks at 20, but you never know when it’s going to happen and you’ve got to keep developing.
“It’s a big shift when you’re at the top of your mark and you know that if I bowl my best here then I will be better than the guy at the other end.
“If you play in first-class cricket as a bowler then you are capable of bowing a world-class spell.
“The difference between that and international is that those guys bowl that spell every time and that’s what I’ve got to aim towards.”
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