Derbyshire have announced the signing of New Zealander Test opening batsman Hamish Rutherford to cover the absence of Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan, who plays for Caribbean Premier League.

The 26-year-old, who previously played for Essex, will join up with Derbyshire for all three formats between the middle of June and until the end of July.

In total, he will be available for 14 matches this summer which includes seven NatWest T20 Blast fixtures, three Championship matches and four Royal London Cup games.

Rutherford has scored 755 runs in 16 Tests for the Black Caps, and has featured in 78 Twenty20 internationals, scoring over 3,350 runs.

#BREAKING: #DCCC sign NZ opener Hamish Rutherford @HDRutherford17 for spell this summer #P2bD http://t.co/W2FcWcEnoV pic.twitter.com/965Gxxs9s2

— Derbyshire CCC (@DerbyshireCCC) May 6, 2015