Essex County Cricket Club are pleased to confirm that Derbyshire all-rounder, Matt Critchley, has joined the Club on a three-year deal.
The 25-year-old was one of the standout players in the LV= Insurance County Championship last year, scoring 1,000 runs and taking 32 wickets, whilst across all formats he recorded 1,318 runs and claimed 52 victims.
Critchley was named in the PCA Men’s Team of the Year whilst he finished second behind Simon Harmer in the overall PCA MVP rankings.
The leg-spinner made his first-class debut for Derbyshire back in May 2015, and in his career to date, he’s made 187 appearances across all formats, scoring 4,902 runs and taking 204 wickets.
His highest score of 137 not out came against Northamptonshire in an LV= Insurance County Championship clash in 2015, when he became the youngest player in Derbyshire’s history to score a century, whilst his best bowling figures of 10/194 also came against Northants in 2018.
Critchley was selected for the ECB International Pathway and participated in Overseas Placements in Australia in both 2016 and 2017. The following year he was selected to tour the West Indies with England Lions, making two appearances.
On his move to Chelmsford, Critchley said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be here and to have signed for Essex.
“Essex have been one of the best teams in the country for the last six years, you just have to look at the players in the dressing room and the trophies they’ve won to know this must be a great place to play your cricket.
“It was a tough decision to leave Derbyshire, but as soon as I was made aware of the interest, I wanted to make the move and I can’t wait to get going and to pull on the Essex shirt.”
Essex Cricket Chief Executive, John Stephenson, added: “I’m delighted we’ve managed to get this one over the line and that Matt is now an Essex player.
“It’s important that we look to improve our squad and continue to challenge for the top honours over the coming years. We feel Matt offers excellent attributes with both his batting and bowling across all formats and he’ll make an excellent addition to the team.
“There were a host of Clubs chasing Matt’s signature, so it’s a real coup for us that he’s bought into our vision and feels that Chelmsford is the place for him to develop as a cricketer and win titles.”
Matt Critchley talks to Essex Cricket TV:
