DURHAM have signed South African all-rounder Wayne Parnell to plug a gap in their squad ahead of the start of the Vitality Blast.

Following a recent spate of injuries to key bowlers, and with Matthew Potts ruled out due to an England call-up, Durham have moved quickly to add left-arm seamer Parnell to their ranks.

The 33-year-old is a veteran of the international stage, where he has 59 T20 wickets to his name, including a career best of 5-30 against Ireland last year.

“I’m delighted to have this opportunity to play for Durham,” said Parnell. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my previous spells in England, and everyone speaks well of Durham. I know some of the lads in the dressing room so I’m hoping to fit straight in and use my experience to deliver some wins for the fans.”

Parnell is experienced in English cricket, having played for Sussex, Glamorgan, Kent and Northamptonshire. He also helped Worcestershire Rapids claim their only Vitality Blast crown in 2018.

He joins Durham on the back of a recent IPL spell with Royal Challengers Bangalore, which included a notable performance against Rajasthan Royals when he dismissed Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson and Joe Root to claim figures of 3-10 from four overs.

Proven in a range of different domestic settings, Parnell most recently captained Pretoria Capitals to the final of the South Africa T20. His domestic worldwide experience has seen him claim over 250 T20 wickets in the short format of the game, having represented teams in the Indian Premier League, Caribbean Premier League, Pakistan Premier League, Bangladesh Premier League and the Hundred. A capable lower order batter, he has also scored over 2,000 T20 runs, with a best of 99 for Cape Cobras.

“Wayne is an experienced international level T20 bowler with a proven track record of delivering performances in franchise cricket,” said Durham director of cricket Marcus North. “His experience of playing for and captaining T20 teams around the world will be valuable to us this season.

“He bowls left-arm pace and can provide runs down the order with the bat. He has played a lot of white-ball cricket in England and he comes straight to Durham on the back of a good stint in the IPL so he is ready to play when he arrives this weekend.”

Durham begin their Vitality Blast campaign with a game against Northamptonshire this evening, before taking on Yorkshire at Headingley on Sunday.