Six Further Departures as 2022 Campaign Concludes

Leicestershire CCC can announce the departures of a further six First Team players following the conclusion of the 2022 campaign.

Hassan Azad, Sam Bates, Nat Bowley, Alex Evans, Gavin Griffiths and Abi Sakande will all leave the club upon the expiry of their contract.

The six will join George Rhodes, whose departure was announced in May, and Ben Mike, whose move to Yorkshire was announced in August.

Azad made 42 first-class appearances, scoring 2,569 runs, including six centuries, during his four-season stay with the Foxes.

The 28-year-old made an instant impact upon his arrival from Loughborough University in 2019, topping the Division Two run-scoring charts with 1,189 runs at an average above 54.

His heroics in the opening fixture of the 2022 season salvaged a draw against Worcestershire, after he batted for the entirety of the final day en route to an unbeaten 104 from 280 balls.

Griffiths, 28, featured on 105 occasions for the Foxes across all three formats following his move from Lancashire ahead of the 2017 season.

The seamer claimed 134 wickets, including his career-best match figures of 10 for 83 during Leicestershire’s County Championship fixture with Durham at Chester-le-Street in 2018.

He proved a key component of the Foxes’ white-ball sides, finishing as the joint-leading wicket-taker in the side’s run to the knockout stages of the Vitality Blast in 2020.

Academy graduates Bowley, 21, and Bates, 23, are also set to depart. Off-spinner Bowley debuted in this year’s Royal London Cup, hitting a maiden half-century during his second appearance away at Middlesex, while wicketkeeper Bates first appeared in the final fixture of 2021 at Worcestershire, before assuming the Second XI captaincy on numerous occasions in 2022.

Bowlers Evans, 22, and Sakande, 28, will also leave the club. Evans made an immediate impression on debut against Northamptonshire in 2019, taking the first four of his 11 wickets for the Foxes. After signing midway through the 2021 campaign, Sakande made three County Championship appearances, taking seven wickets.

Speaking about the news, Director of Cricket, Claude Henderson, said: “We want to thank all of our departing players for their unwavering commitment and efforts while representing the Foxes.

 â€œThey have all been great ambassadors of the club and we will do whatever we can to support them moving forwards in their next ventures.”