Liam Plunkett Signs Three-Year Deal With Surrey, Set to Move Out of Yorkshire

England bowling all-rounder Liam Plunkett has been roped in by County club Surrey. He will be moving from Yorkshire when his contract expires at the end of the ongoing season.

The fast bowler Plunkett stated off his county career in Durham. He joined Yorkshire back in 2013. However, the relations between the player and the county have remained strained over the years.

Plunkett was directly called up as a replacement in the eleventh edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), this year.

The situation didn’t go down well with Martyn Moxon, the Director of Yorkshire Cricket. He had planned for Plunkett to be available for the whole of the tournament. Plunkett plied his trade for the Delhi Daredevils (DD) in the IPL and performed well in patches.

The all-rounder returned to the domestic circuit. He was dropped after a solitary Royal London One-Day game against the Northants. Plunkett criticized the decision.

“I had one bad performance. If they want to drop me on that… They said I wasn’t ready, that I looked undercooked. I was disappointed and I let them know,” Plunkett had said in June.

Plunkett had talks with Yorkshire:

Plunkett had several conversations with Yorkshire. However, the club seemed reluctant to make an offer which made him look at other options.

Middlesex emerged as the frontrunner to sign Plunkett. However, in the end, it was Surrey to sign him on a three-year deal. Plunkett’s inclusion will surely bolster the bowling line-up. It also has the likes of Morne Morkel, Sam and Tom Curran.

“We are trying to assemble a squad that has availability and is within our budget to compete in all three domestic competitions,” said Moxon.

“With that in mind, we are not in a position to be able to offer Liam a new contract. He has played a big part in our recent success and we obviously thank him for that and wish him well for the future,” Moxon added.

Liam Plunkett has been successful with Yorkshire in the past before joining Surrey.

Plunkett won the championship for Yorkshire in 2014 and 2015 respectively. The fast bowler has been in great form for England in the limited-overs format.

Plunkett has bagged 54 wickets in 29 matches. He has slowly become one of the most reliable bowlers for England in the shorter formats. Plunkett will be a trump card for England in the World Cup next year provided he is fit.

“It’s disappointing that it has come to an end but it is incredibly exciting that I’ve got a chance to go to another really big club and hopefully win some more silverware with them,” Plunkett told yorkshireccc.com.

“It’s bittersweet but a new chapter,” he added.

Surrey CCC Director of Cricket, Alec Stewart said that it will be a great signing.

“When a player of Liam’s ability and experience becomes available it makes perfect sense to sign him. Adding him to our squad gives us great options in all formats and we look forward to seeing him playing for Surrey over the coming years,” Stewart remarked.