Essex County Cricket Club are pleased to announce that Academy graduates, Ben Allison, Feroze Khushi and Josh Rymell have all signed new contracts with the Club.
In a season that saw him make his debut for the Club, Josh Rymell has signed his first senior professional contract with a two-year deal until 2023. The 20-year-old batsman featured across all three formats this season but it was in the Royal London Cup where he impressed most, hitting his maiden Essex century against Yorkshire Vikings. His high score of 121 runs contributed towards 331 runs in the competition at an average of 55.16.
Feroze Khushi has committed to a one-year extension to his current contract, which extends his time with the Club until the 2023 campaign. The batsman featured greatly for the Second XI in 2021, featuring in seven of the 8 Championship games.
The 22-year-old also made his Royal London Cup debut this year, scoring 109 in his first appearance against Durham at Emirates Riverside. He went on to make a further five appearances for the Eagles in the competition, scoring 234 runs at an average of 46.80.
Ben Allison has signed a one-year extension which will keep him at the Club until the end of the 2023 season. The young bowler continued to make his breakthrough into the First Team this year with 11 appearances in first-class and List A cricket. This included taking 10 wickets across nine games during the Royal London Cup as the Eagles reached the semi-final stage of the competition.
Essex Head Coach, Anthony McGrath is looking forward to the trio developing further in the years ahead. “The bedrock of this Club has always been built on the talented youngsters coming through the Academy, so to have three players of this calibre commit their futures is fantastic.”, he said.
“I know it was a proud moment for Josh to make his Essex debut this year and to go on and score a maiden century made it even more memorable. This experience will prove invaluable next season where I hope he can make many more contributions with the bat.”
“Feroze found his red-ball opportunities hard to come by this year due to the depth of talent we have in this squad but I’m looking forward to him pushing hard for his spot in the starting XI next season. The Royal London Cup provided a great opportunity for our young players, so having Josh and Feroze come into the first team and hit big hundreds was great to see.
“Ben impressed us with his Championship performances before Peter Siddle joined us at the start of the season, especially his half-century against Durham which helped us to win the match. He will be an important option for us next season and I’m looking forward to watching him compete with Sam, Jamie and Shane for a place in the side.”
Chief Executive, John Stephenson, added: “It’s important that Essex Members and supporters can enjoy watching Academy graduates perform in the First Team, so having three talented players like Josh, Feroze and Ben sign new contracts is great to see.
“I’m looking forward to the three of them continuing to develop and making their mark at Essex, but also provide a further exemplar to others currently working their way through the age groups.”
