South African all-rounder Wiaan Mulder will join Essex for the first-half of the upcoming season. Mulder will be available for the first six rounds of the County Championship and the first six matches of the Vitality Blast. This means that the Proteas cricketer will be spending time in the United Kingdom between April and June of 2026.

Mulder has previously represented Leicestershire and Kent in his early English county stints. He has played 92 First-Class matches and 140 T20s so far. Essex's Director of Cricket Chris Silverwood expressed the club's happiness after signing Mulder.

Silverwood also spoke on Mulder's widespread experience and looked forward to the young cricketer gelling with the team.

"We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Wiaan to Essex. He is a proven international performer and one of the most complete all-rounders in the game today. His ability to contribute consistently with both bat and ball will add real balance to our squad, and his experience at the highest level will be invaluable to our group. The club is looking forward to seeing the impact Wiaan can make for us in both the County Championship and T20 Blast during his time with us at the start of the 2026 season," stated Silverwood, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

Mulder added that he was excited to ply his trade for Essex and return to the country for a fresh challenge, also saying that he was excited to join the group. 

"I am really excited about joining Essex and coming back to the UK for a new challenge. I have always had great experiences playing here and am looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together at Essex," noted Mulder.

Amongst other developments, Derbyshire have signed Sufiyan Muqeem to their squad for the first half of the Blast.

The Netherlands all-rounder Logan van Beek has been brought in for the first eight games of the Championship. Van Beek has also featured for Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Worcestershire previously. He will also be available to play in the 20-over competition.