England fast bowler Matthew Potts has turned a big-money move to Yorkshire, The i Paper understands.
The Durham quick is still on a central contract with the ECB but played his most recent Test in this winter’s ill-fated Ashes trip, taking 0-141 at Sydney as England slumped to a five-wicket defeat at the SCG back in January.
He looked to be heading to Headingley, but The i Paper understands that he will now be staying put, having decided his future lies at the Riverside.
Potts has been in excellent form in both red and white ball cricket this summer, recently taking eight for 66 – and ten wickets in the match – against Derbyshire as Ryan Campbell’s Durham continue to dominate Division Two.
Durham are eyeing immediate promotion back to Division One (Photo: Getty)
Despite his wicket-taking, Potts is unlikely to see his current central contract extended beyond this summer, making him far more expensive than would have been the case if England were still paying him.
Although England do not disclose the value of central contracts, it’s likely that Potts would have been earning in excess of £250,000 a year.
Yorkshire now appear to have focused their efforts elsewhere: on Wednesday it was announced that Surrey’s James Taylor – who arrived at the Oval via Derbyshire in 2020 – had signed for the county on a three-year deal.
Durham will now hope that Potts can help the club establish themselves in Division One next season following their relegation from the top flight back in September.
Veteran keeper on the move
Hampshire have already announced the signing of Rishi Patel from Leicestershire, and The i Paper understands that Ben Cox could following him out the door at Grace Road.
The 34-year-old wicketkeeper signed for the county from Worcestershire in 2024 and is out of contract at the end of the season, with no renewal forthcoming to suggest an overhaul of the squad at Leicestershire.
Sussex exodus over for now
Sussex, meanwhile, are increasingly hopeful of keeping the majority of their current squad together following the departures of Henry Crocombe to Surrey and Fynn Hudson-Prentice, who has signed for Hampshire alongside Patel.
Tom Clark, who had been linked with a move to Surrey, has signed a new one-year deal and the expectation now is that others will do the same as the county look to get back on an even financial footing by the end of the 2027 season.
A key piece of that jigsaw is Paul Farbrace agreeing to stay on in a part-time role as director of cricket, following the arrival of Ed Warner as the new Sussex chair.
Warwickshire youngsters catching the eye
Hamza Shaikh is rated highly by club and country (Photo: Getty)
In the Midlands, two players attracting interest are Hamza Shaikh and Zen Malik.
Shaikh, still just 20, had been targeted by both Gloucestershire and Leicestershire having not made a single appearance for Warwickshire in first-team cricket this summer.
But the expectation is that the former England Under-19 captain and England Lions tourist will remain at Edgbaston.
Malik, though, is still considering his future and could be on the move before the start of next season.
No deal for Dal
One player who now looks like he’s staying put is Derbyshire’s Anuj Dal.
The all-rounder had been linked with a move to Hampshire but after discussions, the 30-year-old now looks set to remain at Derby.
England spinner looking for opportunities
Parkinson is a three-format international for England (Photo: Getty)
Another former England player who finds himself on the outside looking in is Matt Parkinson.
Capped across all three formats for his country, the leg-spinner has barely featured for Kent in this season’s T20 Blast and has only played in half of their eight Division Two fixtures in the County Championship.
With a dry, hot summer likely to produce turning wickets over the next three months, The i Paper understands there’s likely to be no shortage of counties ready to offer the 29-year-old some game time should he continue to find himself on the sidelines in white and red ball cricket at Canterbury.