Dirk Nannes for Surrey?

Only a matter of days after Shaun Tait cancelled his Surrey deal for the Twenty20, the club have announced they are in advanced talks for what amounts, largely, to a like-for-like replacement, Dirk Nannes.

I must admit I thought the club would struggle to get in a real quality player at such short notice but all credit to Adams and Co., if the deal is confirmed Nannes is a quality signing with a proven pedigree. He might not be the 98mph monster Shaun Tait is (in between injuries), but he is a 90mph bowler, and a left armer to boot.

He is the wrong side of 35 but he didn't make his first class debut until he was 29 and has to this day only played 23 of them so he is, relatively speaking, fresh as a daisy. Which is not to say he doesn't have experience, he's played 102 Twenty20s in a combination of the Twenty20 Cup, the Australian Big Bash and the IPL, not to mention 17 Twenty20 internationals.

He didn't appear at the World Cup earlier in the year, and he's only made two appearances in this year's IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore, so he might be a bit rusty, hopefully he'll shake that off quickly. He played 6 times in the Big Bash this year, collecting 7 wickets at 20, giving away less than 7 runs an over. They aren't spectacular figures, but I am sure he'll do the business.

With Meaker injured and Tremlett away on England duty its understandable that Adams was seeking a like-for-like replacement for the T20s. An attack comprising Arafat, Dernbach and Nannes has the potential to be very useful. Hopefully the club can tie up the deal in the next few days.