The former Sri Lanka seamer has been ruled out for the rest of the season with an elbow injury, but Kerr comes in as his replacement across all formats
Derbyshire have been forced into a late change to their overseas roster ahead of the start of the T20 Blast after Hayden Kerr was confirmed as an injury replacement for Suranga Lakmal.
Lakmal, who moved to the Incora County Ground after retiring from Sri Lanka duty, has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with an elbow injury.
The 35-year-old, who took 15 wickets in five LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two matches, had taken on a large workload during the opening weeks of the season, bowling 213.5 overs - the second most in the squad.
Head coach Mickey Arthur said: "It's never nice to lose a player, and Suranga has made a positive start to his Derbyshire career, but we've moved quickly to sign a strong overseas player for all formats."
Kerr arrives until September across all formats having been part of the Sydney Sixers squad that won successive Big Bash League titles in 2019/20 and 2020/21.
After having a peripheral role during those campaigns, he became a central figure last term taking 25 wickets and finishing as the tournament's second-highest wicket-taker behind Peter Siddle.
Derbyshire can also expect Kerr to contribute with the bat (Mike Owen/Getty Images)
He also has a T20 highest score of 98 recorded against Adelaide Strikers during what was a memorable campaign for the New South Wales native.
But his first-class career has been more modest, playing just four matches during which he's taken four wickets and scored 192 runs.
Despite being parachuted into the Falcons squad at the 11th hour he will be available for their opening game against Birmingham Bears on Friday (May 27).
"This is a really exciting move for me," he said. "Playing in England is an ambition of mine and the chance to do it in all formats is something I’m really looking forward to.
"There's a really good coaching setup at Derbyshire, working with Mickey Arthur, Ajmal Shahzad and Ian Bell will really help my development, as well as the chance to learn from the more experienced players in the squad.
"I'm coming off a positive season with the Sydney Sixers, and hopefully I can keep that going and win some games for Derbyshire."
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