Dane Vilas

Born: June 10, 1985, Johannesburg, South Africa 

Role: Wicketkeeper-batsman

Debut: 2017

Lancashire’s success at signing South-African batsmen boded well. Ashwell Prince was a revelation at Old Trafford both on and off the field, while Alviro Petersen was a run machine in all forms of the game.

Dane Vilas has featured for his country in six Tests. He is yet to make a fifty at the highest level, but in all red-ball matches, he averages just shy of 40 with 12 hundreds.

The 31-year-old has more than 10,000 runs in all three formats and holds a similarly strong average in white-ball cricket.

In a short space of time, the Kolpak signing became a fan favourite at Lancashire and one of the most consistent players in the side. Vilas made his Red Rose debut in a pre-season friendly against Cambridge MCCU, immediately grabbing the attention of the crowd with his impressive strokeplay.

Although he is a dependable figure behind the stumps, he is expected to play second-fiddle to Alex Davies in the squad’s keeping department, although his presence will provide a dependable back up option.

Captain Steven Croft was called upon last summer when Davies was sidelined by persistent knee troubles and Jos Buttler's county availability has become scarce due to his international and franchise commitments.

Brooke Guest could feature with the gloves at some stage this season, but Vilas provides Lancashire with genuine competition in a position of limited options in recent seasons.

Vilas struck 58 in his first innings for the Red Rose against the students at Fenner’s in April and an unbeaten 42 second time around. In the 2017 curtain-raiser, he and Davies shared a partnership worth 183 runs for the third wicket.

The Proteas batsman hit three fifties in his first four innings for the club, scoring 74 and 92 against Essex, suggesting he has much more to offer for the rest of the season and throughout his two-year deal.