Wednesday 19 August 2015 10:27, UK
Yorkshire have announced that exciting young England all-rounder David Willey will join them from Northamptonshire at the end of the current season after signing a three-year contract.
Willey, 25, has played four one-day internationals and one T20 for England, and further caps are likely to come his way against Australia next month.
A lively left-arm seamer and big-hitting batsman, he played a huge part when Northants won the T20 Blast in 2013, hitting 60 off 27 balls and taking a hat-trick in the final.
And Northants will be back at finals day this year after Willey smashed a brilliant hundred in their quarter-final win over Sussex last week.
However, he has now decided to join the reigning county champions and said: "I am really excited to be joining Yorkshire and being part of a progressive side.
"I'm looking forward to working with (coach) Jason Gillespie and the rest of the Yorkshire lads.
"This has been a tough decision to make because of my personal attachment to the County Ground. I came here many, many times as a boy and dreamed of playing for Northants.
"I will always be grateful for the years of coaching and mentoring that I have received, which gave me the best start to my career.
"However, I feel that the time is right to move on, to experience a new approach to training, and to broaden my cricket education. Yorkshire gives me the best opportunity to challenge myself, working alongside some of the best players in the country.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the staff and fans of Northants Cricket for their incredible support. I don't believe I would have achieved this much had it not been for the opportunities that Northants has given me."
Yorkshire Director of Cricket Martyn Moxon said: "We are delighted that David has agreed to join us.
"He is a highly talented all round cricketer and will be a great addition to our current squad. He will play a big part in helping us be competitive in all forms of the game and hopefully we can play our part in helping him realise his ambition of playing Test cricket for England."
