Mark Watt signs for 2023!

I have two immediate observations regarding today's excellent news, which sees Mark Watt returning to Derbyshire, around his Scotland commitments, for all formats next season.

The first and most obvious is that we have picked up a very canny operator. He is one of those players who seems to have been around for years, which he has, but he is still only 26. My guess would be that although he is the junior of our three spinners, he will start next summer as our first choice.

He has to. His ability was noted and not questioned by any of the commentators at the T20 World Cup. Mickey Arthur speaks of him in glowing terms and his enjoyment of the game and of the individual battles within it are clear every time he steps onto the ground, with or without his notes on individual players...

He is a leader. The sort of player that every captain will want when the chips are down. Someone to who you can throw the ball in expectation that he will make something happen. That might be one of his 24 yard specials or many variants in between, including remarkable swing for a spin bowler at times.

As next year's captain, Leus du Plooy will know that he can depend on Mark, whose reputation precedes him in the shorter forms of the game.

Is he yet the finished article for 4-day cricket? No, but he hasn't played that much more in that format than I have. In the interview on the club site, Arthur mentioned him 'getting more revs on the ball' 'giving it more flight' and being 'a work in progress'. As are all spinners in their mid-20s, of course.

But let's not focus on any perceived weaknesses, rather enjoy the fact that we have recruited a player who has proven and established his credentials on the world stage. It has been a very good winter so far, exceeding my expectations for players coming in.

The other observation is that his signing almost certainly means that our other overseas player will be either a batsman or a batting all rounder. English wickets are rarely conducive to spin until later summer anyway and it seems very unlikely that we would go into the 2023 season with four spinners on the staff.

Logic thus dictates that the replacement for Shan Masood will be close to like for like, even if the new man is not necessarily an opening bat.

Last week's news that Leicestershire are set to sign Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane for 2023 was an eye-opener, as was the accompanying news that India are keen to see some of their players gather more experience on English wickets.

The exclusivity contracts held by those who play in the IPL means they couldn't play in the Vitality Blast, but there are a number of players over there who would undoubtedly benefit from a season in English conditions. Just as the county game would benefit from their presence.

Many are simply too well rewarded by the IPL to need county cricket, of course. The biggest stars can simply live off their IPL earnings, if they chose to do so. With Virat Kohli worth an estimated £120 million and even a talented young tyro like Prithvi Shaw worth £2 million, they don't really have to spend their summers in a Derby flat..

But it leaves a lot of outstanding cricketers who would undoubtedly be thrilled to work under an internationally renowned coach. Perhaps, like Shan Masood, keen to get back into the international picture.

Very much something to keep an eye on.

But for now, let's celebrate that we have secured the services of Watty. The man with the regular smile, the many variations and the desire to win that will continue to endear him to Derbyshire supporters.