Harry Gurney has announced his retirement from red-ball cricket, and has signed a limited-overs contract extension with Nottinghamshire until the end of the 2020 season.
The former England international has recently developed a reputation as one of the leading death bowlers in T20 leagues around the globe, helping Melbourne Renegades win the 2018/19 Big Bash League and signing a lucrative IPL deal with Kolkata Knight Riders.
He also has a solid overall first-class record, tallying up 275 wickets at an average of 28.81, and has recently confirmed he views Test cricket as the pinnacle. Nevertheless, at the age of 32, he believes now is the correct moment to concentrate solely on the shorter formats.
I think you will find the majority of franchise cricketers will agree. Myself included. https://t.co/RHGL48rUYu
— Harry Gurney (@gurneyhf) February 28, 2019
“I am very proud of what I have achieved in red ball cricket, but now feels like the right time to focus solely on one-day competitions,” he said. “I am grateful to the Club for understanding and for showing faith in me by giving me a deal until the end of 2020. I can’t imagine playing my cricket anywhere else in England and I hope I can taste further white ball success with this exciting group of players.”
Nottinghamshire director of cricket Mick Newell said he felt “disappointment” that he would no longer be able to call upon Gurney in the County Championship. “While it’s a disappointment that Harry won’t be playing red ball cricket for us anymore, we’re really pleased to have him committed to us for one-day cricket over the next two seasons,” said Director of Cricket Mick Newell. “He’s one of the best white ball bowlers around. Once he made his decision, if we didn’t offer him a white ball deal there would be 17 other counties wanting him to bowl for them.
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“When he returns from the IPL, he’ll have had a concerted period of T20 cricket behind him and will continue to be an asset to us, as he has been for a number of years. We have young bowlers ready to step into the red ball team and perform in the likes of Luke Wood, Zak Chappell and Paul Coughlin. Now they are likely to benefit from more opportunities.”
