Otago sign two overseas players from England

Otago have signed Kent allrounder Darren Stevens and Sussex batsman Chris Nash for New Zealand's domestic Twenty20 tournament that starts in December, according to the website tvnz.co.in. The duo were signed after Otago lost the services of Dimitri Mascarenhas to a long-term injury that will keep him out past Christmas.

Stevens and Nash both had impressive Friends Provident t20 campaigns in England. Stevens excelled with the bat, scoring 369 runs at an impressive average of 41 and a strike-rate of 149.39. He also took 12 wickets with his seamers at an average of over 23. Nash's offspin claimed 13 wickets at 17.39 while he scored 299 runs at an average of 24.91 and a strike rate of 128.32.

Otago's overseas player last year was Pakistan allrounder Yasir Arafat. The team decided not to retain him as they wanted a different skill set. The Twenty20 competition will be played from December 2 to January 2.