Ashcombe seal the deal for Worcester all-rounder
ASHCOMBE Park have completed the signing of Worcestershire allrounder Ross Whiteley.
The North Staffs and South Cheshire League side have added the 32-year-old to their squad for next summer’s 2021 Premier Division campaign.
There’s bound to be plenty of interest in Whiteley’s move to Basford Bridge Lane after he has carved out a reputation as one of the country’s most destructive Twenty20 batsmen.
The left-handed batsman, who also bowls left-arm seam, has an astonishing strike rate of 143 from his 131 T20 matches.
He has spent time playing in the Bangladesh and Pakistan Super
Leagues - and has picked up T20 silverware on home turf.
Whiteley was part of the Worcestershire side which won the 2018 Twenty20 Blast after beating Sussex in the final at Edgbaston.
He had already showcased his short-form ability back in 2015 with a stunning innings against Yorkshire at Headingley.
Whiteley smashed 11 sixes in a 35-ball 91 to guide Worcestershire into the T20 quarter-finals.
In that season, West Indies legend Chris Gayle was the only batsman to boast a better strike rate than Whiteley.
He also boasts plenty of experience in the longer formats, with 87 first-class and 81 List A appearances to his name.
Whiteley, who has represented England Lions, started his career with Derbyshire after graduating through the county’s youth system.
The former Repton School student had to be patient for chances, although he made his debut in 2008... and then hit the winning runs as Derbyshire were crowned Division Two champions four years’ later.
However, he
Worcestershire switched in the to 2013 campaign and remains a key fixture at New Road.
He didn’t feature in the Bob Willis Trophy this summer, but was once again a central figure in the Pears’ T20 plans.
Ashcombe Park tweeted: “We are delighted to announce the signing of Ross Whiteley for the 2021 season.
“The big hitting all-rounder is a huge signing for us and a clear sign of our ambitions for the 2021 campaign.”
Worcestershire assistant coach Alan Richardson, who is also sister paper The Sentinel’s cricket columnist, added: “We always encourage players to play club cricket. It provides them with a different experienceand there’s a lot of plus points to doing it.
“Ashcombe Park might see a lot of him or not much at all, depending on his other commitments.
“If he trains well in the winter with us and performs in pre-season then he might not be around for Ashcombe too much, but that is
the gamble clubs take when they sign first-class contracted players.”
Whiteley also has commitments in The Hundred in 2021 after being signed in the £60,000 bracket by Southern Brave for the competition.
The inaugural tournament was due to take place this year, but was pushed back because of the coronavirus pandemic.
However many games Whiteley does end up playing for Ashcombe Park, Richardson says it will be a treat for local cricket fans.
“Ross is very much a threedimensional cricketer and we will be pushing him to bowl a fair bit in the league because he can be under-used at times,” he explained.
“He’s a great fielder and a very destructive batsman.
“He clears first-class venues, and once hit Yorkshire’s Karl Carver for six sixes in an over, so there won’t be a ground big enough to cope with him at club level.
“We’ve seen him play some amazing innings at Worcestershire and he’ll certainly excite cricket supporters in Staffordshire.”
Whiteley links up with an Ashcombe Park side who finished 10th in the top flight in the shortened season this year.
They won just two of their 11 matches - and will be hoping Whiteley’s arrival will enable them to be challenging at the right end in 2021.