Lancashire County Cricket Club is delighted to announce the signings of former West Indian batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul and South Africa wicket-keeper batsman Dane Vilas.
The departure of two senior experienced batsmen in the form of Ashwell Prince and Alviro Petersen in recent seasons, along with the early retirement of Club legend Tom Smith has seen Head Coach Glen Chapple prioritise strengthening Lancashire’s batting unit heading into the 2017 season.
The Club’s new experienced signings will complement a young and talented group of players at Emirates Old Trafford, of whom four made their First Class debuts in 2016.
Liam Livingstone (23) and Rob Jones (21) both went on to hit maiden First-Class centuries, whilst Matthew Parkinson (20) took a five-for on debut against Warwickshire and Saqib Mahmood (19), who made his First-Class debut against Hampshire, has also featured for in the NatWest T20 Blast on several occasions in 2016.
Chanderpaul returns to Emirates Old Trafford having joined Lancashire in the 2010 season where he played eight First-Class matches for the Red Rose, hitting two centuries and five half centuries.
The 42 year-old has scored over 20,000 runs, including 30 Test centuries, in international cricket for the West Indies with only Sachin Tendulkar, Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis having played more Tests than Chanderpaul, who joins Lancashire on a one-year non-overseas contract.
Chapple, commenting on the new signings said, “We’re delighted to bring two experienced international batsmen into the Club ahead of the new season. Shivnarine and Dane will form an important part of our side in 2017 and we look forward to welcoming them to Emirates Old Trafford.”
On the signing of Chanderpaul, Chapple added, “We’re thrilled to be able to bring Shivnarine back to Lancashire for the 2017 season. He knows what it takes to be successful and there is no doubt that he will have a positive effect on our squad. “The talented squad at Lancashire is very young and Shivnarine will bring a healthy level of experience to help guide them.
“Whilst Shivnarine will undoubtedly have an important role to play on the field, his role off the field will be of huge importance to our young players. He’s one of the most experienced international cricketers in the history of the game and it will be a fantastic opportunity for our players to learn from him, in all aspects of the game.”
Chanderpaul commented, “I can’t wait to return back to Lancashire this summer. I thoroughly enjoyed playing for the Club in 2010 and I’m looking forward to joining up with the team ahead of the start to the season.
“It’s an extremely ambitious Club and there are some fantastically talented young cricketers in the squad. I’m looking forward to passing on some of my experience to the younger players in the squad. The 2017 season is going to be an exciting and progressive one for Lancashire County Cricket Club, and all concerned with it.”(LCCC)
