Head of Cricket, Dave Houghton, is delighted to welcome Ravi Rampaul back to the Club, and is looking forward to seeing the experienced quick lead Derbyshire’s young attack.
Former West Indies international, Rampaul, has returned to the Derbyshire for the final three Vitality Blast fixture, as well as the Royal London Cup, having taken a Club-record 23 T20 wickets in the 2019 season.
That total put him top of the wicket-taking charts in the Blast, while he managed a total of 80 dismissals across all formats. Hopes were high that he would be able to replicate that form in 2020, but the Covid-19 pandemic prevented Rampaul from returning in the final year of his contract.
Regulation changes mean that he is now classed as an overseas player, and he is available for tomorrow’s T20 fixture against Durham at Emirates Riverside, where he could revive his new ball partnership with Logan van Beek.
With the likes of George Scrimshaw, Ben Aitchison and Mikey Cohen expected to feature in the Royal London Cup, Houghton wants Rampaul to share his experience with the youngsters and contribute to their development, while targeting success in 50-over cricket.
“I’ve always felt that we had some unfinished business. Ravi had such a good season in 2019, he was Club Player of the Year, but we lost him for a year due to the pandemic,” he said.
“It’s great to have him back, Ravi is a great cricketer and he still has a lot to offer our side. He will be a great asset for us. When I arrived in 2019, the first thing I said to him was that I wanted him to lead our attack.
“That means standing at mid on and talking to our bowlers about what they are doing. It’s a job he enjoyed and I think it inspired him to reach the heights that he did in 2019, and I’m sure it’s something he’s looking forward to doing again with our young attack in the One-Day Cup.
“Our bowlers have come on leaps and bounds this year, but to have someone of Ravi’s ability and class opening and closing the innings for us, which is something we’ve missed this season, is going to be fantastic.”
Rampaul’s arrival comes as a boost for the 50-over squad, who have been depleted by a long-term injury to Wayne Madsen, while Matt Critchley, Leus du Plooy and Luis Reece have all been selected for The Hundred.
The fast bowler has 120 all formats wickets for Derbyshire, including best Royal London Cup figures of 5-48, which he picked up against Yorkshire at The Incora County Ground in 2018.
Houghton admits that losing key players is something Derbyshire will have to deal with, but he’s backing the squad members who come in to take their chance.
“It’s a blow for us that we will lose some quality players for the Royal London Cup, but we’re proud of the players who have been selected for The Hundred,” he added.
“We will get by, and we’ve brought in a top level bowler to help us out with that. We will put out a competitive side, it’s a great opportunity for some of our players who specialise in white ball cricket, we have to hope the best will come out of them.
“We’ve got a good bowling attack, make no error, going into the tournament and hopefully that will make up for some of the runs we will lose.”
