Paul van Meekeren signs with Durham

Paul van Meekeren celebrates after taking a wicket at the Men's T20 World Cup Qualifiers in 2019

Dutch quick Paul van Meekeren has signed on with county team Durham for the remainder of the T20 Blast season, as the northerners make a push to qualify for the knockout stages of the Vitality Blast.

In a boost for the Netherlands and van Meekeren’s T20 World Cup preparation, the quick’s arrival was announced on the club’s Twitter today, and ends a period without a first-team county contract, following his departure from Somerset in 2019. Van Meekeren had social media abuzz in 2020, when he announced that he was working as an Uber Eats delivery man to earn an income.

Durham sit in fourth in the Northern Blast group, with the top four sides progressing to the semi-finals. They take on cellar-dwellers Derbyshire, Lancashire and current leaders Nottinghamshire, likely needing two wins to guarantee a spot for the semi finals.

Elsewhere, Singapore’s Tim David has signed on for southerners Surrey who also make a push for the finals, with the all-rounder replacing the injured Kyle Jamieson.

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Daniel Beswick

Co-founder and one of our #ECPod hosts, Daniel is currently helping on ICC's coverage via their digital client. Daniel has also commentated and presented on ICC.tv broadcasts for pathway events since 2019, and in a rare feat called action at both USA vs PNG and Namibia vs Oman ODI matches at WCL2 2019 on the same day. Daniel has also been a member of WBBL/BBL and Olympic productions at Channel 7, also supporting commentators and on-air talent for the network’s coverage.