Scott Steel signs three-year deal with Leicestershire after turning down Durham extension
Oct 04, 2020
Leicestershire [UK], October 4 : Scott Steel has signed a three-year deal with Leicestershire county after turning down an extension at Durham.
Having made his first-class debut for Durham at the Lord's against Middlesex in 2019, the 21-year-old went on to make one further appearance in first-class cricket in which he posted a total of 48 runs with a career-best of 39.
The batsman made his white-ball debut in 2019 too, as he batted at the top of the order in both List A and T20 competitions.
Upon signing his contract at the Fischer County Ground, Steel said: "I am incredibly excited to be joining Leicester. It was a difficult decision to leave Durham but having spoken at length with both Paul Nixon and Sean Jarvis and I wanted to be part of what they are building at Leicestershire."
"I believe it is a very exciting time to be joining the club and I'm looking forward to next season," he added.
His List A debut saw him post a superb 68 in the home victory against Northamptonshire Steelbacks after Durham lost two early wickets of Graham Clark and Alex Lees. Steel was part of the 119-run third-wicket stand in this fixture.
He has gone on to make a total of eight appearances in List A cricket - all coming in 2019 - posting a total of 227 runs with a career-high of 68, averaging an impressive 34.42 with the bat.
His T20 stats are most impressive, though, as Leicestershire are all too aware of following his appearance against them in the 2019 edition of the Vitality Blast.
Steel posted 70 from 30 balls, alongside D'Arcy Short's 77 from 36 balls to lead Durham to a comprehensive victory over the Foxes at Chester-le-Street in 2019.
He went on to post a total of 369 runs in the 2019 Vitality Blast competition, finishing as Durham's third-highest run-scorer for the campaign.
He has posted a total of 409 runs in T20 cricket, with a career-high of 70, averaging a useful 24.05 at a strike rate of 134.
Steel has also been a part of the bowling attack in the shortest format, claiming a total of 11 wickets, for an average of 24.90, and boasting an economy rate of 6.85.
Head coach Paul Nixon said: "We are delighted to have Scott join us at Leicestershire. Scott will add power to our current squad, he is a dangerous batsman who has a match-winning credentials."
