Netherlands World Cup skipper Peter Borren will be playing his representative cricket for Wairarapa in the 2010-11 season.
Borren, 28, an allrounder who bowls lively medium pace and bats in the middle order, is expected to make his debut for the province at the Chapple Cup limited-overs tournament in Wanganui on October 29-30.
He is one of two high-profile players who will be turning out for Wairarapa in the coming season, the other being Greg Todd, the former Rathkeale College first XI allrounder, who has been contracted to play for Central Districts after having previously played at first-class level for Otago and Auckland.
Todd, who is based in Wellington but will play his club cricket for Red Star, will captain Wairarapa in a limited-overs fixture with Hawke's Bay at Onga Onga on October 22.
The result of that match will decide which of those two teams play in the premier section at the Chapple Cup tourney, the losers being relegated to contest the second-tier Cave Cup division that Wairarapa won last year.
Just who Borren will play for on the club scene has still to be confirmed but his curriculum vitae suggests his services will be keenly sought.
Christchurch-born Borren made the New Zealand under-19s for their World Cup tourney in 2001-02, playing alongside two of Wairarapa's favourite sons in Black Caps Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder, before opting to play at international level for the Netherlands.
His one-day debut for the Netherlands came against Sri Lanka in July 2006 and the fortunes were somewhat mixed as evidenced by his bowling figures of 1 for 94 from his 10 overs. However, he quickly enhanced those stats and made the Netherlands line-up for the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean.
In 2007 Borren also showed his allround ability when he narrowly missed out on a maiden one-day international hundred, being stumped for 96 against Canada in Toronto.
And he played a big part in the thrilling last-ball victory secured by the Netherlands over England in the ICC World Cup Twenty20 at Lords, snapping up the crucial wicket of Eoin Morgan and then smashing a 25-ball 30 including a massive six off Paul Collingwood.
His 50-run partnership with Tom de Grooth tilted the game in the Netherlands' favour.
Not surprisingly, Wairarapa selector Mark Brown is delighted to gain the services of the two newcomers, although Todd, in particular, may have limited appearances in the Hawke Cup elimination games because of his commitments with Central Districts.
"It's absolutely huge for a region like ours to have two players like them available for us ... it has to lift the whole side," Brown said.
Also pleasing for Brown is the news a former Central Districts B rep, top-order batsman Mark Childs, has decided to make himself available for selection this season after restricting his play to the club scene in recent years, and a couple of up-and-comers from last season, Matthew Stringfellow and Jamie Holmes, have returned from successful overseas stints. Stringfellow played in England and Holmes in Ireland.
Also encouraging is that one of the mainstays of last season's campaign, batsman Henry Cameron, is keen to appear at rep level for Wairarapa despite playing his club cricket in Manawatu and that allrounder Daniel Ingham should also be available again once he has completed his studies at Otago University.
Of the other regulars in Wairarapa teams over the past few seasons, the likes of Steve Coleman, Tim Lucas and Paul Lyttle are again in the reckoning and Brown has also included a number of the region's most promising youngsters in his training squad, medium pace bowlers Stefan Hook (Wairarapa College) and Xavier McCluskey (Rathkeale), and Rathkeale wicketkeeper Matt McKenzie.
Doubts exist, though, over the contribution that two of the district's proven performers in the representative arena - allrounders Seth Rance and Sam Curtis - will be able to make, especially in the pre-Christmas period.
Both are in the process of recovering from injury hassles and their absence will be keenly felt. Rance would normally be expected to spearhead the attack and Curtis the batting.