Shahzad off to Lancashire

England bowler Ajmal Shahzad has joined Lancashire on loan from Yorkshire for the rest of the season.

England paceman leaves Yorkshire on loan deal

England bowler Ajmal Shahzad has joined Lancashire on loan from Yorkshire for the rest of the season. The 26-year-old has fallen out of favour at Headingley and it was announced last week that he was free to leave the White Rose county on loan or on a permanent deal. Defending county champions Lancashire have moved quickly to snap up the Huddersfield-born bowler, who has played one Test and 11 one-day internationals for England. Shahzad tweeted: "(It's a) great feeling to be back into cricket today! (I) appreciate Lancashire for having me on a loan agreement till the end of the season." Yorkshire chairman Colin Graves last week hinted Shahzad was disillusioned with life under new coach Jason Gillespie and the club's official Twitter feed suggested his departure would benefit both parties.

Thoughts

They tweeted: "Both parties (are) on different cricket pages but (he's) a genuine talent. "Ajmal had different thoughts on how his cricket should go than (the) club. He wasn't happy. Threatened positive atmosphere in squad. "No one at (the) club is happy that Ajmal has gone and we do genuinely wish him well." Shahzad took eight wickets in three first-class matches at an average of 26.25 for Yorkshire this season. He was the first British-born Asian to represent Yorkshire in 2004 and he claimed match figures of four for 63 on his Test debut against Bangladesh in 2010.