Former England fast bowler Ryan Sidebottom, who announced his retirement from international cricket in 2010, has earned a fresh one-year contract with the English county franchise Warwickshire County Cricket Club (WCCC).
Before joining the Bears side in August, Sidebottom has further impressed the management of the Warwickshire while representing Birmingham and Berkswell which were the champions of the District Premier League (DPL).
“Ryan [Sidebottom] has been an excellent addition to the squad and we’ve been pleased with his performances in the three championship games that he’s played to date, with his 13 wickets coming at an average of just 18.3,” the Sport Director for Warwickshire CCC Ashley Giles said in a press release.
The 44-year-old Surrey-born ex-slow left-arm orthodox spinner Giles has effusively praised the efforts of Yorkshire-based 39-year-old left-arm fast bowler Sidebottom for showing the courage in a bid to rise among the ranks in the domestic set-up.
“He’s worked incredibly hard to reach the professional ranks at this stage of his career and we look forward to seeing him challenge for a place in other formats of the game next season,” Giles maintained.
Moreover, the club has further extended two-year the contract of batsman Liam Banks and fast bowler George Panayi.
“Liam has shown great promise across all formats. His goal now is to push for a place in the first team by scoring heavily on a more consistent basis,” added Giles.
The former spinner and vanguard for England Ashley Giles revealed the side is looking forward to introducing the youngsters, as he believes Ryan has a significant role to play in different formats of the game.
“Our transformation process is very much underway and George, Liam and Ryan have important roles to play in helping the club return to challenging for honours across all formats,” the statement of Giles read on Warwickshire official website.
Pertinently, the 19-year-old right-arm fast bowler Panayi was named in the line-up after featuring in his maiden first-class game in June this year.
“George experienced Championship cricket earlier this summer and made a good impression, taking four wickets and bowling with good pace and control against international batsmen,” Giles who claimed 539 wickets in 178 fist-class fixtures concluded.
The Middlesex-born Panayi made his appearance in the day and night fixture at Edgbaston in Birmingham against Lancashire, in the 2017 Specsavers County Championship.
Interestingly, the rookie graduated in 2016 from the same club while representing England Under-19 team.
Sidebottom, who made his international appearance against Pakistan at Lord’s in May 2001, played 25 One-day Internationals, followed by 22 Tests and 18 Twenty20 Internationals for the Three Lions.
Owing to a significant first-class career in which he claimed 761 wickets in 229 four-day matches an average of 23.74, Sidebottom, however, failed to repeat his performance in the top-flight cricket. He bagged 131 wickets across all three formats.