Cats sign County star
GEELONG has bolstered its batting stocks, netting Englishman Josh Cobb for the 2017-18 season.
Cobb has signed with the Cats from Northamptonshire, where he has played English County cricket since 2015.
Before his recruitment by Northants, the 27-year-old plied his trade with Leicestershire, starting his first class career as a 17-year-old in 2007.
A former England under-19 player, Cobb has amassed more than 4000 runs in County cricket and will bolster the Cats squad further after the signing of former South Australian keeper and current Melbourne Renegade Tim Ludeman.
Geelong coach Andre Borovec is excited by the recruitment of the Englishman.
“The last two seasons in the first XI have been focused on developing our players, who are mostly under the age of 23,” Borovec said.
“A benefit of this strategy has been the ability for our players to be introduced to the requirements of first XI cricket at a young age.
“We are at a stage now where the level of competition for all positions, including batting, needs to increase.”
Cobb will add valuable experience at the top of the batting order and provide support to captain Eamonn Vines and young players Angus Boyd and Tom Treble.
“Our off-season recruiting focused on finding batsmen in the 25 to 30-year-old age bracket, who would add value in terms of first class experience to the batting group,” Borovec said.
“We believe that we have done that, with the introduction of Tim and now Josh.
“Josh is a dynamic player, with an impressive record in English County cricket.
The experiences that he has gained around various international T20 leagues, points to a very well rounded cricketer.
“We believe that he will be an excellent fit for our club, given our stage of development.
“Indeed, we envisage his impact extending to off the field, as much as on it.”
Cobb is likely to be available for the Cats from Round 3 on, at the end of October, after he finishes the UK County Championship season.