Derbyshire sign Robin Peterson

Derbyshire have signed Robin Peterson, the former South Africa left-arm spinner, as a Kolpak player for the 2010 season.

Peterson, who has played six Tests and 35 ODIs for South Africa, holds the unenviable record of conceding the most runs in a single Test over, after Brian Lara took 28 from his left-arm spin at the Wanderers in 2003.

Peterson plays for the Cape Cobras in South Africa and was due to play for South Africa A in the warm-up game against England at Potchefstroom. However, Cricket South Africa (CSA) pulled him out of the squad after he declared his intentions to play for Derbyshire which made him ineligible for future international duty.

Derbyshire struggled to make much of an impact last season, finishing sixth in the second division of the Championship despite a late promotion bid, bottom of the North Division in the Twenty20 Cup and seventh in the Pro40. John Morris, the head of cricket, hopes Peterson's experience can bring better success.

"We are delighted and excited by the capture of Robin who is an all-rounder of international quality and plenty of experience," he said. "Good quality spin bowlers are a valuable commodity in the modern game, as are explosive batsmen. Robin brings both of those attributes to the party and I am thoroughly looking forward to working with him in 2010."