Peterson was recently left out of South Africa's one-day squad

South Africa left-arm spinner Robin Peterson, 30, has turned his back on international cricket to join Derbyshire as a Kolpak player.

He has played six Tests, 35 one-day internationals and five Twenty20 internationals but was recently dropped from the Proteas squad.

"We are delighted and excited by the capture of Robin," said Derbyshire head of cricket John Morris.

"He is an all-rounder of international quality and plenty of experience."

Port Elizabeth-born Peterson, who has also batted in the top order in one-day cricket, was in the South Africa squad for the recent ICC Champions Trophy but did not play in any of the matches.

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He was then dropped for the current one-day series against England.

Morris added: "Good quality spin bowlers are a valuable commodity in the modern game, as are explosive batsmen.

"Robin brings both of those attributes and I am thoroughly looking forward to working with him in 2010."

Kolpak players are signed using a loophole in European Union law to allow stars from countries and regions with associate trade agreements with the EU - such as South Africa and the West Indies - to avoid counting such players against a county's overseas quota.

The England and Wales Cricket Board recently succeeded in lobbying for new Home Office laws that will restrict the number of Kolpaks.

Derbyshire recently lost the services of South Africa paceman Charl Langeveldt when he gave up his Kolpak status to return to international cricket.

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