21-year-old Scott Steel turned down a contract extension with Durham to sign up with Leicestershire.
Scott Steel had his breakout season in 2019 with Durham where he had scored a total of 369 runs at an average of 136.7 in the T20 Blast. This year, his numbers had diminished but it did not stop Durham to offer him a contract extension. However, the 21-year-old chose to decline the offer and had decided to sign with Leicestershire instead.
Durham’s director of cricket Marcus North confirmed this by saying, ‘It is extremely disappointing that Scott Steel has decided to move on from Durham. Following our offer to extend Scott's contract at Durham, we could not offer the guarantees he was ultimately looking for and this has resulted in him accepting a three-year contract with another county. We wish Scott all the best for his future career’.
Aside from Steel, several other players, including T20 captain Nathan Rimmington will also leave the team due to contract expirations and other reasons. With that, North added, ‘We would also like to wish Nathan Rimmington, Josh Coughlin, Sol Bell, Ben Whitehead and James Weighell the very best for their future careers and thank them for their commitment to Durham Cricket over the years’.
Talking about his upcoming move to Leicester, Steel says, ‘I am incredibly excited to be joining Leicester. It was a difficult decision to leave Durham but having spoken at length with both Paul Nixon and Sean Jarvis and I wanted to be part of what they are building at Leicestershire’.
‘I believe it is a very exciting time to be joining the club and I'm looking forward to next season’, he added.
Meanwhile, Leicestershire head coach Paul Nixon also warmly welcomed him into the team and described him as someone who has match-winning credentials. Both Leicestershire and Durham play for the T20 Blast League. To know more about these teams as well as the league, visit Betwala.
READ MORE: What is the T20 Blast League?
