The grass is Green in Carlisle for Derval

The 29-year-old will head to Cumbria for the new season as he becomes Carlisle Cricket Club’s latest overseas professional, replacing Barbarian Justin Greaves.

Green, who has recently played for Jamaica alongside West Indian internationals Jermaine Blackwood, Nikita Miller and Rovman Powell, will be hoping to make his mark in the North Lancs/Cumbria Premier Division in 2018.

Carlisle captain Marc Brown played a key role in the recruitment of Green and he’s hoping he can make a positive impact at the club.

“I think Derval has been quite late into the first-class game, which is one of the reasons why we were quite keen on him,” Brown says.

“He’s got a bit of experience and it seems as if he has some leadership qualities as well.

“So, we will be looking to get him involved in the coaching side of things at the club but also to be that experienced head within the first-team bowling attack.

“I believe he’s a genuine all-rounder who will be a strike bowler for us.

"He comes very highly recommended from Justin. Justin identified him as somebody who he thought would be a good match.

“Derval’s available for the full season as well. With so much cricket being played around the world now, it’s been very hard to tie somebody down all season.

“We’re looking forward to getting Derval on board. It’s his first season over in the UK. I expect him to be fresh and ready for it.

“With the beauty of the internet these days, you can find out so much stuff.

"We are not just getting a nobody. I’ve done quite a few background checks and, from what I gather, he is a very good cricketer.”

In 2017, former West Indies Under-19 international Greaves impressed with his all-round game at the city club as he scored more than 500 runs and took 32 wickets.

“Hopefully, Derval will be more of a strike bowler,” Brown admits.

“He’s smaller in build and he’s got quite a slingy action from what I’ve seen. He’ll probably bat number five for us.

“I’m not sure if he’s quite got the statistics to back up his batting ability as Justin has. But that might be through a lack of opportunities in the team that he plays in.

“He’ll add some experience.”

“We’ve also beaten other teams to his signature which I think is always a good sign,” Brown reveals.

“Other clubs in the north west were also keen to sign him, but I think he had heard some good things about us.

“At Carlisle, we have quite a young club. It’s obviously a positive for us that the agent [Robert Ashwell from Ace Cricket Exchange] gave him other offers but he decided to come to us rather than the other clubs that were interested in him.

“As soon as he became available, he was the first man we made a bid for.

"So, he was kind of our first choice after Justin said he didn’t want to come over.

“Hopefully, Derval can help to gel our side when we get back together in April.”

There will be lots of new overseas players throughout Cumbria this term, with the likes of Furness also having brought in Jalaj Saxena to replace New Zealand fast bowler Seth Rance.

Brown, meanwhile, is hoping Carlisle can “kick on” after reaching the County Cup final and finishing third in their debut season back in the Premier Division last year.

“Hopefully, we can kick on a bit more and keep our place in the top three,” he says.

“Realistically, I think we also want to try to win a cup. Whether that’s the CN Cup or the County Cup, we want to try and win one. That’s our aim this year.”

Strangely, Green and Greaves came up against each other last month as Barbados beat Jamaica in a four-day match – with Greaves dismissing Green.

Brown says: “I think Derval is the eighth leading wicket-taker [for Jamaica] in their four-day competition. He has taken more wickets than Justin.

“He’s not played much white-ball cricket at the moment but then, if you actually look through Jamaica’s team, they have Andre Russell and Chris Gayle playing for them as well at the moment.”

All bar Greaves of Carlisle’s side for their County Cup final defeat to Furness had come through the club’s youth system.

“We’ve got some good young players like Ben Davidson, Henry Walker and Jonathan Davidson,” Brown emphasises.

“Then, we’re also going to be looking for a big season from James Lythgoe who has been playing cricket in Perth.

“There, we have four young lads who have, hopefully, now had that experience coming through the system and can cement themselves in and around the first-team.

“In terms of experienced players, there is the likes of myself, Alex Raybould and Jordan Whinn, who had a season with us last year.

“So, hopefully, we are going to have a decent side.

“In a way maybe having someone like Derval at five and maybe Alex Raybould at six could help us to have a bit more impetus in the middle overs of games.”

Mark Davidson, Carlisle secretary, adds: “We’re delighted to have Derval for the 2018 season.

“Great credit must go to Marc Brown for the many hours of work he has put in in the background during the winter months.

“The club is moving forward on and off the field, and I’m sure Derval will be able to make a valuable contribution to our ongoing development.”